Misadventures of a broken Sword
by Eldenwind
Summary: There are many Emiya Shirous, and many versions of his story. This time he suddenly finds himself thrown into a completely different reality with no idea how or why. Now he finds himself dragged into the affairs of Angels, Fallen or otherwise, Devils and who knows who and what else. Blaming Zelretch may or may not be appropriate (he might have an accomplice).
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I own neither Fate/Stay Night nor High School DxD  
**

* * *

It had been about a month since he had woken up in a hospital bed with no recollection of how he had gotten there.

The last thing he could remember before that was losing to Gilgamesh, the King of Heroes just about to deliver the finishing blow…

Something rather outrageous must have happened in-between those two moments, considering that his battle with Gilgamesh took place in Fuyuki's Ryuudou temple, while the hospital he woke up in lay in Kuoh, a place he had never even heard about.

That was the first hint.

The next one was surprisingly simple.

The very world around him was different. The difference in concentration of mana was sufficient for even someone like Emiya Shirou to notice it. At first he thought he must be in some location with high mana, but why would a public hospital be built in such a place?

And indeed, this was a public hospital. Ordinary hospital equipment, ordinary nurses… Everything was ordinary.

The third hint shook him to his very core, the other reason the world was different.

The world wasn't there.

…

Okay, that sounded weird, he should probably rephrase that.

Obviously the world was there, at least as far as he could tell, but the World, the main reason why it was dangerous to be a Magus, wasn't there.

Or at the very least, it couldn't give less of a damn.

He wasn't entirely certain which it was.

Of course, the thing that really hammered it home was far more simple.

Emiya Shirou was not a person, there had never been a major disaster like the great fire in Fuyuki, the Matou family didn't exist (he couldn't check about the Makiri though), the Tohsaka family did but they didn't have anyone named Rin…

Okay, so it was a number of things, but it was those that confirmed the outrageous thing that seemed to have happened.

Well, there was also the fact that the dates didn't line up, at all.

He could only assume that he had somehow been sent to a different reality with so many differences that he was hesitant to call it a parallel one.

He sighed a bit as he paused to look up at the sky before resigning himself to his current reality and opening the door of what had become his home.

"I'm home!" He said, noting the extra pair of shoes apart from those of his caretaker.

They looked like they belonged to a woman, and this caused Shirou to frown slightly.

Azazel, while most certainly a bit of a womanizer, didn't bring any of them home ever since he took in Shirou.

Probably to avoid awkward moments.

As he went further in he heard their voices. Based on their tone it was a rather normal conversation, although it also seemed like the woman was slightly annoyed with Azazel.

Problem was, they were also speaking in a language he couldn't understand.

They probably heard him approach as their conversation came to an end.

"Shirou! Back already?" Azazel said, leaning back into his chair with a flippant gesture of greeting, switching to Japanese.

"You do know that I'm actually a bit late, right?" Shirou retorted.

Azazel was a tall man whose hair was somehow black with golden bangs and a black goatee, and whose personality could only be called, 'unfathomable'.

That man now gave a small laugh. "I guess that might be true!" The he straightened back up and indicated the woman sitting in the couch. "This is an associate of mine who came over to discuss some matters. Her name is Penemue."

The woman in question, who had long purple hair and an otherworldly beauty and bosom turned to face Shirou, revealing a strong gaze that spoke volumes of her age.

It was a little bit like meeting a servant, something that was strengthened since she, as well as Azazel, gave off a peculiar smell that was most certainly supernatural, as they weren't close enough for him to sense a natural one.

And of course she had to have a name straight from the book of Enoch.

"Hello Shirou. As Azazel said, I am one of his associates come to discuss a few matters with him. I hope he hasn't caused you any great grief." She said.

Shirou figured it was better not to question what matters those were, especially since he suspected these two were Fallen Angels, although he had no idea how powerful that made them.

The reason for this was that Azazel's name struck him as unusual, maybe even mythical, and he had decided to look into it.

His search had lead him to the book of Enoch, and the revelation that Azazel was the name of an Angel. Not just that, it was the name of a Fallen Angel, one that had become tempted by a human woman and fallen from grace in lust.

Of course, Shirou did his absolute best not to let his thoughts show and simply smiled.

"Nice to meet you Penemue-San, and no, he hasn't caused me any grief yet. Will you be staying for dinner? I am about to start preparing it." He replied.

"That is a kind offer, but I do not know if I have the time-"

"You should stay Penemue, he's good, and you should be able to afford the time." Azazel cut in with a wide grin.

She seemed a bit uncertain, but ultimately she sighed and shrugged. "I suppose that is true. I'll have to see how good you are Emiya Shirou."

"I won't give any guarantees, but I have been told my food is good."

With all that said and done, Shirou headed to the kitchen. While the number of people he would be cooking for had increased, it wasn't all that much, from two up to three, which for Shirou who had gotten used to cooking for three or more regularly was hardly an issue.

Shirou had earned the right to the kitchen after demonstrating both the desire and ability to cook, neither of which were overflowing in Azazel.

Vaguely he could hear the conversation resume in the living room, but he tuned it out certain that he wouldn't be able to understand anything.

Since they had a guest, he figured he might as well bring out the good ingredients and prepare something a little bit nicer than usual.

For Shirou this was a moment of peace as his mind became focused on the task at hand, leaving behind the uncertainties of his current situation as he deftly went through the steps of cooking.

Giving a satisfied nod as he tested the taste he called out: "Dinner's ready!"

Azazel and Penemue made their way to the dining-table even as Shirou laid out the meal, a traditional Japanese-style one.

"My, it both smells and looks quite tantalizing." Penemue said as she eyed the food.

"Heh, Shirou here's a skilled cook." Azazel interjected. "Heck, it seems like he's gone for the good stuff!" The man then added with a grin.

"Itadakimasu!" Shirou said, starting his meal, causing the other two to mirror his actions. "You know, that makes it sound like you know what ingredients we have."

"Well, contrary to what you may think, I do know to some degree what we have." Azazel retorted.

"Well, he is quite keen on making sure he knows exactly what he has at any given moment." Penemue added with a small smirk. "Ah, this food is quite exquisite in taste as well. Is this why you have been hiding out here Azazel?"

"I believe we already covered that topic earlier Penemue. Are you finally becoming senile in your advanced age?"

"Need I remind you that I am no older than you are?" Penemue replied with a smile promising pain.

Well, they certainly know each other well.

Shirou couldn't help but smile a bit, though it quickly turned bitter as he remembered dinner time back home.

It seemed both Penemue and Azazel noticed it, but neither chose to say anything,

"Well, we have something important to discuss Shirou." Azazel instead said.

"What is it?" Shirou couldn't help but tilt his head at the man.

"I've been thinking, and I feel like it would be quite unfortunate if you never got to experience school all the way through." Azazel continued.

"You're sending me to school?"

"Yeah. There's a nice school here called Kuoh Academy. They used to be all-female, but somewhat recently started accepting boys." Shirou didn't like the grin on Azazel's face. "Which means there's plenty of girls to go around!"

Shirou couldn't help but sigh, and Penemue seemed quite disapproving, although, thinking about it, that might have started before Azazel mentioned the girls.

"I guess it would be nice to finish my schooling…" Shirou said. He didn't particularly need to finish his schooling in order to fulfil his dream, but it would probably help. "But I don't particularly care about the girls."

"Come on Shirou, you need to live a little! A nice girl or two really helps spice things up!" Azazel seemed way too upbeat about what he said.

Shirou half-expected Penemue to say something, but it actually seemed like she might even agree to some extent.

"And while you're there…" Azazel suddenly shifted gears, become something more akin to serious than anything else. "I want you to keep an eye on someone." Shirou could only raise an eyebrow at his caretaker. "Well, you see… a friend of mine-"

"So you call me an associate and Barachiel a friend?" Penemue suddenly interjected with feigned annoyance.

Barachiel… Great, another angel that appears in the book of Enoch. But that guy wasn't described as a fallen…

"A friend of mine has a daughter that attends Kuoh." Azazel continued, and it seemed neither of them noticed Shirou's confusion. "Their relationship is somewhat strained, and he hasn't been able to see her for quite some time."

Shirou shook his head lightly. "I suppose I could keep an eye on her…"

"Good! Her name is Himejima Akeno, and she's quite the fine young lady!" Azazel happily said while handing Shirou a photograph.

'Quite the fine young lady' was not an exaggeration. With extremely long black hair tied in a ponytail and an exceptionally generous bust the girl could give Penemue a run for her money. The picture gave off quite the lady-like air, almost perfect, but Shirou knew better than to buy that.

He had been in a relationship with Tohsaka Rin after all.

"How much is left?" Shirou then asked.

"Nothing. You'll be joining the second year on Monday." Azazel said without a care in the world.

On Monday…? But today was Saturday…

"What?" That was all Shirou could say in his astonishment.

"What? It's not like I would have taken no for an answer. Your uniform arrived just today, and I settled everything else last week." Azazel replied.

"Thank you for the food, my business here is already settled, so I'll take my leave now." Penemue suddenly said, rising from her seat. "You know, I might just claim the boy for myself if he's this good at cooking." She then added with an alluring smirk.

 _ **-Break—**_

And so, despite quite a few misgivings Emiya Shirou found himself standing at the gates of Kuoh Academy, clad in its uniform.

He had to admit, he was hesitating a bit.

But not for the reason one might think. No, the reason for his hesitation wasn't so simple as nervousness.

There was clearly some kind of magical boundary there, and it left him worried for what he might be getting into.

He couldn't quite tell what it was for, and nothing seemed to happen whenever a student passed it. It was clearly active though… Maybe it only reacted to supernatural entities? After all, they did seem to be around, and hard to distinguish from normal humans, so wanting to know when one entered into your vicinity was perfectly reasonable.

So, the question was, who put it up, what exactly did it do, and would it cause him trouble?

Unfortunately, it seemed that he had been standing there for too long as the female student that had been standing a way beyond approached, probably having waited for him to enter only to become fed up with his hesitation.

"Emiya Shirou?" She called out.

She was a bespectacled girl with black, relatively short hair, violet eyes and a more modest figure, which was a bit of a relief, Shirou felt like there were already too many people with generous figures around. She also gave off an air reminiscent of Tohsaka's honour student persona.

Most importantly though, she had a supernatural smell. It was different from Azazel or Penemue, but it was certainly something he had sensed before.

Shirou wasn't the only ward of Azazel's, but he had only met the other once. Said person had introduced himself as Vali, and there had been something in that person's mannerisms that had reminded Shirou of Lancer.

A repressed battle-lust that was just waiting for someone worth his while.

Vali had given off a distinctly different smell from Azazel, and now this person before him was similar. But where Vali had had a repressed hint of something else, the person before him was pure.

"Ah, sorry! That's right." He replied, doing his best to keep a straight face.

Any unease that showed through would hopefully be interpreted as nerves.

She sighed. "I am Shitori Souna, a third-year here at Kuoh Academy, and I serve as its Student Council President. I've been waiting for you."

Definitely annoyed. Still… for the Student Council President to personally come greet a transfer student? Why did he get the feeling she was suspicious of him?

"I see. I am sorry to have wasted your time." He apologised, bowing.

It didn't seem like she expected the apology.

"No, no. It's fine. I wanted to ascertain your character and show you around." She suppressed her fluster rather quickly.

"I see. Thank you Shitori-Kaichou."

At this point he didn't really have any choice but to pass through the boundary, and fortunately nothing seemed to happen at his end, and Shitori Souna made no indication that anything happened on her end.

It could of course be that she had nothing to do with the boundary, but that didn't seem overly likely.

As for wanting to ascertain his character… He could imagine plenty of reasons.

After that, he was simply shown around the various facilities of the school before he was left at the faculty office with his homeroom teacher.

The fact that said teacher had an inordinate amount of respect for the Student Council President didn't go unnoticed.

 _ **-Break—**_

His first day had been rather… interesting.

He figured he'd get a lot of attention, being a transfer student in the middle of the year.

What he didn't realise was that him being male would garner even more attention.

The class was overwhelmingly predominantly female, and out of the males that he saw throughout that day, most were rather average. Not that Shirou had high opinions of his own appearance, but his high degree of physical fitness raised it, as mentioned by literally nearly every single girl he met.

Other than that though, the day passed without a hitch. Nothing unusual happened, and he could only assume that whatever that boundary did, it hadn't reacted to him.

He had by chance encountered Himejima Akeno and had learned a few things about her. She was one of the Great Ladies of Kuoh together with the girl next to her, Rias Gremory, a foreign exchange student with long vibrant crimson hair and an excessive bust.

The interesting thing he noted as he passed them by was that Himejima Akeno's scent was something of a combination between Azazel and Penemue's and Vali and Shitori Sona's, while Rias Gremory like the Student Council President had a more 'pure' scent.

The question then was simple. What was it that caused these different scents?

If they were some kind of supernatural entities, did it mean they were different species? If his suspicion that Azazel and Penemue were exactly what their names would suggest, then what could the others be?

Probably not Angels, as it wouldn't make a lot of sense with Himejima-San seemingly being a hybrid between the two.

The problem was that the list was kind of long. Various types of Youkai, Demons, Fae (a bit unlikely in Japan to be fair)…

He hadn't questioned Azazel about any of this out of respect for the man choosing not to question him about his circumstances…

But right now his caretaker was the only person he felt even vaguely confident about asking, and he was starting to feel the need for information…

His musings were interrupted when he realised that his surroundings were quiet… too quiet…

Stopping, he warily started looking around, noting the lack of people on the street, which even if it wasn't the busiest or anything shouldn't be empty at this time of day…

"Huh, seems like you can at least notice when something is wrong. Maybe this won't be as much of a waste of time as I feared." A young-sounding feminine voice broke the silence, coming from somewhere behind him.

The arrogance that seeped through it wasn't quite at the level of the King of Heroes, but it was certainly not at a level an ordinary person was likely to have.

He turned around quickly, tensing his body and getting ready to Trace, praying that nothing would go wrong due to the difference between this world and his when he did so.

While he had tested Tracing, he hadn't tested Tracing Noble Phantasms yet.

"Oh! It seems like you're at least a bit battle-hardened! Good, good!" The person exclaimed in response to his actions.

Now that he had turned around he could see that the person behind him was a short girl middle-length blonde hair tied into twin-tails by a large black bow and blue-eyes. Her figure was fitting for her stature, giving her the appearance of a child, although her words and attitude suggested otherwise.

She also had the same scent as Azazel and Penemue, so he assumed she belonged to the same species.

"Who are you?" He said, maintaining his cautious stance.

The being about to attack him seemed to ponder for a moment before shrugging. "Well, you're about to die anyways, so why not? My name is Mittelt, and I will have you die here, Emiya Shirou!"

With those words a spear made of pink light manifested in her right hand, and with inhuman speed she shot forward towards Shirou.

"Trace On!" He quickly traced Kanshou and Bakuya, feeling quite a bit of relief as the married blades came into being complete with their history.

Mittelt's eyes widened in surprise as she saw the blades form, but even so she managed to avoid his counter-blow when he parried her attack.

She quickly took distance and stared at him. "That's… But I can't sense any Sacred Gear… Some type of Magic…?" She muttered, clearly quite surprised. "That's nice! Seems like this might actually be quite interesting!" Suddenly a pair of black feathery wings sprouted from her back as her supernatural presence increased.

This time she was even faster as she shot forward, but the speed of her attack couldn't compare to that of Saber's during their spars, and with the help of the experience absorbed from Archer he parried the flurry of strikes, but he couldn't find any opening to counter-attack.

Honestly, he was a bit disappointed.

Gilgamesh had been a tougher opponent in close-combat than this.

But, even as he felt disappointment, his opponent started to feel rage, and with that rage came sloppiness.

She made a mistake, left an opening.

Shirou's leg lashed out, viciously connecting with her stomach, driving the air out of her lungs and sending her flying.

Unfortunately she recovered before he could follow up and took to the skies.

He considered whatever he should try Tracing a bow or Trace a few swords to fire at her.

Then she chucked her light-spear at him.

It was a good throw, indicating that this was a favoured tactic and not some desperate last-ditch effort.

It flew fast and true, and he wouldn't be able to dodge it…

So he deflected it. Kanshou and Bakuya were swords of superior make, even if his Traced copies were degraded, and thanks to Archer's additions they warded off magical attacks. It was honestly too easy.

The smirk that had formed on Mittelt's face turned into a shocked expression.

"How!? Don't tell me… You couldn't be… Are you a Hero!?" She practically screamed.

Shirou supposed he shouldn't have been surprised. If anything, this world seemed like it never left the Age of Gods, it would make perfect sense if there were heroes running around.

He couldn't help the smirk that formed on his face, although if he had seen it, he would probably have been horrified considering how it looked just like Archer's.

"Not yet." He replied.

It was sort of a true statement. He wanted to become an Ally of Justice, which was similar to a hero, and Archer was, for all that Shirou hated him, an Emiya Shirou that had become a Heroic Spirit.

For some reason it seemed like Mittelt became flushed with anger as she violently shook herself before starting to throw more light-spears.

It wasn't even close to what Shirou had to deflect while fighting Gilgamesh.

If possible, he would prefer not to kill Mittelt. Not because he didn't think she deserved it, but because he needed answers.

For example, why she was trying to kill him.

It seemed unlikely Azazel would have ordered this all things considered. Penemue was a possibility, even if it didn't seem overly likely with his current information.

It was possible someone else within their group wanted him gone for one reason or another. Of course, she could be unrelated to Azazel's group entirely for all Shirou knew.

Problem was, how was he going to capture her?

Fire Berserker's Axe-Sword at her? She might survive that…

Wound her till she passes out from blood-loss? Is that even possible? And how is he going to make sure she survives?

If he had analysed those chains used by Gilgamesh, he might have been able to use them but…

Chain…?

He does have a weapon with a chain attached. Rider's daggers.

He prepared to Trace the weapon, waiting for an opportune moment to use it.

Luckily, he didn't have to wait long as Mittelt seemed to tire from continuously throwing the spears, temporarily causing an opening.

Kanshou and Bakuya disappeared into motes of light as Rider's daggers appeared in his hands.

Subconsciously he drew upon the history of the weapons, replicating Rider's usage of the weapons.

Before Mittelt could properly react to the change in armament the chain had wrapped around her, and moments later she found herself pulled around with monstrous strength before painfully being smashed into the ground.

She lost consciousness immediately, but Shirou didn't move.

Because he had seen something within the weapon. A glimpse of Rider's summoning… and her Master.

Sakura.

It made sense. Tohsaka had said that Shinji wasn't a Magus. Shinji himself had said that he wasn't a Magus. The bruise on Sakura's hand shortly before the war began. Some of her odder actions and reactions around that time.

And he could perfectly well guess why she might have handed the Servant over to Shinji. It's not like he hadn't noticed her affection for him at all.

He shook his head, dispersing his rampant thoughts.

This was hardly the time or place, especially since there was nothing he could do about it right now.

Realising that Mittelt had lost consciousness he let the weapon disperse and picked her up.

It might be a really stupid idea, but he was going to have a chat with Azazel about this.

* * *

 **Author's notes: Well... This is... I will make one thing clear. The main reason this exists is because I was mildly annoyed about how people write Shirou, and my mind, ever helpful, decided to ask me, "How would you write Shirou then?" That became the foundation for this, which wouldn't go away, so I wrote this. I will immediately admit to one thing, I don't know a whole lot about High School DxD. I like the setting and its basic idea, but I find the execution absolutely horrid. I did do some research while writing this, but if something is horribly wrong, that would be why.  
**

 **Of course, with that confession, you might ask why this is a crossover with High School DxD. It just is. I'm not sure why myself. I will also point this out, this probably (hopefully) won't get updated any time soon. I have a bunch of other stories going and I really shouldn't start any more. That, and I haven't got the faintest clue where to take this. In exchange for being a bit of a one-shot (maybe), this chapter is longer than usual for me.**

 **With all that said, I would still like to see feedback about this chapter, maybe pointing out any mistakes or something I did well.**

 **I hope that you enjoyed, and that you have a nice day.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I own neither Fate/Stay Night nor High School DxD  
**

* * *

"Oh, Shirou! Great tim-!" Fortunately for the young Magus his new guardian was indeed home. "I was going to ask if you had a good day, but this…" The eccentric man knelt down to take a closer look at the unconscious person Shirou was carrying. "This is… Mittelt? Knocked unconscious by blunt trauma…"

"Will she be alright?" The youth asked as he laid Mittelt upon the sofa.

"Yes, she'll recover. There shouldn't be any lasting damage." Azazel replied with a surprisingly serious face. "What happened?"

"She attacked me."

"…" There was a period of silence as Azazel seemed quite shocked. "She what? Shirou, I hope that isn't a joke, because this is very serious."

"I'm dead serious. She suddenly came after me on the way back from school, declaring her intent to kill me while saying my name." Shirou responded with all the sincerity and seriousness he could muster.

Judging by Azazel's reaction Mittelt probably was a member of his group, but Azazel hadn't been involved in the order. If Shirou failed to convince him that he was speaking the truth, he shuddered to imagine the consequences.

"That… shouldn't be… She shouldn't even know you exist… No, more than that, she shouldn't be attacking anyone. She's supposed to be observing…" Shirou couldn't even imagine how fast the possibilities were being considered, but what he saw now wasn't the eccentric pervert, but a battle-hardened analyst.

Suddenly Azazel moved, placing a hand on Mittelt's head. It started shining, and soon she stirred.

The light died down and Azazel removed his hand while Mittelt's eyes slowly cracked open.

"Uh…? What…? How-?" At first she seemed to groggily question what happened to her, but the she noticed Azazel and her eyes shot open. "G-Governor General!? Why are you here?!"

"Mittelt." The curt statement of her name caused her to freeze up. "Did you attempt to kill Emiya Shirou?" He then said, pointing towards the youth.

Her eyes trailed over towards Shirou, filling with confusion as they did so, causing her to stare blankly at him.

"Why is-" She started, but Azazel cut her off.

"Answer my question." Shirou shivered at the power and authority that entered Azazel's voice, while Mittelt's eyes filled with terror as they snapped back to him.

"I-I did."

"Why?"

"Those were my orders…" The already diminutive girl shrunk further into the sofa.

"Who gave those orders?"

"I- Raynare said-said they came from you…"

A flash of rage came onto Azazel's features. "Damn it." He muttered.

Suddenly Azazel's cell phone rang, cutting through the tense atmosphere that had formed.

The Governor General took one look at the caller and suddenly became very, very calm and serious.

"Well, this is a surprise! To what do I owe the pleasure of your-!" He started but it was clear he was cut off.

Shirou couldn't quite make out what was being said, only that the voice of the caller was male.

"What? They… This is quite serious indeed. I'll be right there." Azazel closed the device with a snap and turned towards Mittelt. "It seems Raynare went and got herself and the rest of your team killed by the Gremory heiress. I need to go and deal with the fallout."

"What…?" Mittelt said weakly.

"You and Shirou can sort things out. And let me inform you, Emiya Shirou is under my protection." As if to emphasize the point, twelve pitch-black wings sprouted from Azazel's back along with a burst of overwhelming power, almost causing Shirou to gag on the smell.

Then he disappeared in a flash of bright light, leaving Shirou and Mittelt shell-shocked in the living room, albeit for different reasons.

For Shirou, it was the revelation of Azazel's power.

Forget the servant comparison, the Governor General (not that Shirou knew quite what that meant yet) was far beyond that level. This wasn't something he had a comparison for.

For a while it was silent as Mittelt just lay in the sofa and Shirou just stood a little bit away. Finally though, Shirou recovered from his shock and took a look at the person who had previously assailed him.

She had a complicated look on her face.

"I'm sorry for your loss." He said, causing her to jump slightly and then look to him in confusion.

"What? Is this about Raynare and the others?" She said with a surprisingly ambivalent face. "It's a shame about Dohnaseek and Kalawarner, sure, but I couldn't care less about Raynare."

Shirou grimaced slightly about how lightly the youthful seeming girl before him dismissed the deaths of her comrades, but also because he misjudged what troubled her. If it wasn't her comrades, then it was probably the fact that she had unknowingly acted against Azazel's wishes.

"I see…" He said, uncertain how to proceed while Mittelt looked at him weirdly. Honestly it was reminiscent of how Tohsaka would look at him after he said something odd, and it caused a painful pang of longing.

"Well, you're weird. What kind of person feels sorry for the one who tried to kill them?" She suddenly said while rising to a sitting position.

"You'll find in not like other people." He replied, seating himself in a chair.

"Well, there aren't a lot of humans that can deflect Light Spears like you did."

"I've had some practise deflecting attacks like that."

Mittelt seemed somewhat displeased with his answer but chose not to pry further. "The Governor General said we should sort things out, but you don't seem particularly upset that I tried to kill you."

"You had your reasons." Shirou replied with a shrug.

"Are you sure you're not some reincarnation of a Hero? It would explain so much."

"I'm certain. I assume you and Azazel are Fallen Angels?"

Shirou tucked the reference to Heroes and reincarnation away for later. The way she said that implied it wasn't an uncommon occurrence in this world.

Of course, his question prompted a look from Mittelt that seemed to question his seriousness. "What else?" She said and manifested her wings again. "Don't tell me you were taken in by Azazel without knowing or realising that he was a Fallen Angel? Not just that, he's the Governor General, our leader and one of the most infamous of our number."

"Well, I can't say I had no idea, but I hadn't confirmed it until today."

So that's what she meant when she called Azazel Governor General.

The look Mittelt was sending him indicated that she was finding him weirder and weirder.

"Hmm… Wait, don't tell me… Does this mean you are attending Kuoh without knowing about the Devils?"

Devils? That sounded… ominous… But the only people he had seen in Kuoh Academy that wasn't human was…

"Are you talking about Rias Gremory and Shitori Souna?"

"You figured out who I was talking about, but call the Sitri Heiress by her false name…"

It was clear that she was starting to find him ever weirder, but he needed the information.

"False name?"

"Yes, while attending Kuoh Academy the Sitri Heiress Sona Sitri took up the name Shitori Souna to better blend in."

And now she was giving him a look similar to the one Tohsaka had used whenever she needed to explain something she thought was common knowledge.

"How reclusive were you before Azazel took you in?"

Shirou scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "Very."

Mittelt seemed somewhat doubtful, but once again seemed to refrain from prying further.

 _ **-Break—**_

"This… You are really good at this, aren't you?" Mittelt said after having taken a bite out of her food.

"So I've been told. I'm glad you like it." Shirou responded with a beatific smile.

After their conversation had died down Shirou had realised he didn't know how long it would take for Azazel to return, but considering it seemed he was dealing with a political crisis, especially once Mittelt gave an offhand implication that the Fallen Angels and Devils were mortal enemies and that Kuoh was technically Devil territory…

So he decided to simply just prepare dinner and leave some extra for Azazel, leading into the current situation.

It seemed that Mittelt might have gotten a bit upset that Shirou assumed she liked it (even if it was obvious) as a faint dusting of red appeared on her cheeks and she started trembling slightly.

Whatever it was it disappeared quite quickly, leaving the two of them eating in silence as neither could think of anything to say.

This lasted until Azazel returned, upon which they had a quick discussion about Mittelt's fate whereupon it was decided that Mittelt should stay under Shirou's supervision, in spite of Shirou protesting it, until further notice.

After that was done, Azazel asked to have a private conversation with Shirou, and once Mittelt had left the room casually created some type of isolation field to prevent prying.

"So, it's finally come to this. I suppose it's long overdue." Azazel said with an easy smile. "How much have you managed to figure out already?"

"You're the leader of the Fallen Angels, you've sent me to a school with Devils, who are your enemies…"

"More exactly I am the leader of the Grigori, which comprises the vast majority of Fallen Angels, and while the Devils are our enemies, there is a ceasefire that we thankfully managed to maintain today. My turn, you're a mage from another universe."

Shirou was slightly taken aback by how casually Azazel outright stated his origin. "How did you know?"

"Let's see… You pop up out of nowhere, ask about things that don't exist, and had clear traces of having been in the Dimensional Gap, that alone makes the list of possibilities very short."

"The Dimensional Gap?"

"A world in-between worlds, a vast void with only two inhabitants, anyone who enters without protection is destroyed. Who knows what it connects or could possibly connect to?" Azazel shrugged. "As for calling you a mage… I am the watcher, from the moment I saw you I knew you had some form of magic. As well as a very unique soul."

Shirou couldn't help but show some of his surprise on his face, causing Azazel to chuckle. "What did you see?" The young Magus asked.

"Swords. Swords, fire… I can't quite tell what your magic does, but if my assumption is correct it is heavily tied to swords." The Fallen watcher responded, rubbing his chin.

Shirou sighed softly. "Yeah. My magecraft, basically, allows for a few things. Structural Analysis which allows me to understand something, Reinforcement that allows me to strengthen something, and Tracing, or Projection, that allows me to create a copy of something." He projected a pot as a simple example.

Azazel curiously observed him all the way throughout, and there was a spark of strong interest in his eye.

"A replica made out of pure magical energy… I can hardly tell that it isn't the real deal… But Shirou… that's not a sword."

Shirou laughed nervously and scratched the back of his head. "Well… I can recreate things that aren't swords…" He allowed the pot to disappear into motes of light, causing Azazel to observe closely again. "But when it comes to swords…" This time Shirou traced Kanshou, allowing the familiar weight of the blade to settle into his hand. "I can do far better."

The way Azazel stared at the blade was honestly a bit uncomfortable for Shirou, and he started wondering if he had made a grave mistake.

"Oh my… Even from here… Even if it's just a replica… I can tell that it is a sword of legend… As I thought, your magic, pardon, magecraft I believe you called it?" Shirou nodded. "Your magecraft is a match for a Sacred Gear…"

"Sacred Gear?"

"Ah… of course you wouldn't know. A Sacred Gear is a miracle bestowed upon humans by Father, a tool able to produce many wonderous and powerful effects. In particular note for comparison here would be that the Sacred Gears able to produce swords are only able to produce either holy or demonic swords…"

"Really?" Shirou was somewhat surprised to hear that, although he guessed it made some sense that these Sacred Gears would have such limitations.

"Yes. Can you produce Holy or Demonic swords?"

The young Magus dismissed Kanshou and searched his world for a suitable weapon.

It seemed to be easier to Trace, so maybe he could try pushing it a bit?

Deciding that it was as good a time as any to test it, Shirou decided to attempt to Trace two weapons, one Holy and one Demonic.

"Trace On…" He muttered, starting the processes.

For the Holy sword, he decided to go with Durandal, the Holy sword of Roland.

When it came to a Demonic weapon, he couldn't quite find a suitable sword, so he decided to go for Gáe Bolg, Lancer's spear. While it might not be Demonic per se, it was a cursed spear dripping with killing intent.

He grit his teeth slightly as the weapons materialised, but ultimately just tracing them seemed well within range, although he was hesitant trying to activate either one.

"That's… well, after the display with the pot I shouldn't be surprised as the far closer related spear… That is one nasty spear. Cursed? Definitely. And in stark contrast we have this sword… Most certainly Holy. Very Holy." Azazel looked up from the two weapons. "May I inquire about their names?"

"The spear is Gáe Bolg, and the sword would be Durandal." Shirou carelessly informed.

"The spear of Cú Chulainn and…" The Fallen Angel nodded sagely before his eyes widened, presumably as he realised which sword the young Magus claimed to have recreated. "Durandal!?" The shock was plainly evident. "No, it makes sense… it is the difference of our universes… Their version of Durandal could very well be different from our version… Why can you replicate these weapons? From what you said earlier you create copies, and in order to create copies you need to have come into contact with the real deal, no?" Then Azazel shook his head lightly. "No, it doesn't matter. You clearly came into contact with them at some point and obtained the blueprint through that Structural Analysis you mentioned earlier. Would that be correct?"

Shirou smiled sheepishly and dismissed the two weapons, their combined Auras becoming a bit distracting. "Yes. That's about right."

Azazel looked at the motes of light. "I must say, that is a very beautiful way of dematerialising things."

"I suppose. I never had any input in it though, that is just how it's always worked."

"I see…" Azazel said, stroking his goatee, before suddenly smiling. "Thank you for your honesty Shirou, I was afraid this would have been a far more difficult conversation."

At first Shirou was surprised, then he realised that he had given out quite a lot of information about his magecraft. If Tohsaka was here she would probably have given him a lecture later.

 _ **-Break—**_

The following day Shirou found himself heading towards Kuoh Academy with a far better understanding of the reality he was currently in, courtesy of Azazel who was happy to explain about the Three Factions of Angels, Fallen Angels or Grigori and Devils, as well as the Great war they had waged, and that technically never ended, currently simmering in the form of a ceasefire.

Azazel was trying to push for the signing of a peace treaty between the Three Factions, but there were many elements within each faction that weren't particularly interested in peace, despite the fact that none of the factions could afford to continue the war.

Other than that Azazel had told him about the different worlds of this universe, Earth, Heaven and the Underworld, as well as the various beings that inhabited them.

Then during the morning Azazel had provided Shirou with information about the notables within Kuoh Academy, Rias Gremory and Sona Sitri as well as their Peerages, which Shirou was told was a group of subservient Devils that often contained Reincarnated Devils, which was members of various species reincarnated into Devils through the Evil Pieces system.

These Evil Pieces, on top of reincarnating someone into a Devil, also provided some kind of additional power based on the type of piece, which were based on chess pieces for some reason. Knights received speed, Rooks strength and durability, Bishops magic power and Queens all of the aforementioned at once. Pawns didn't inherently give any power but had the ability to temporarily promote to one of the other types.

Apparently, the Devils had competitions between these Peerages that was something of a national sport amongst them and winning many of these so-called Rating Games provided great prestige.

The main point being that Shirou would be quite sought after if the Devils realised his power.

Of course, considering where that power came from, Shirou was uncertain if he would even retain it if he were to become a Devil, and he wasn't about to give up his soul to someone else for power. Not with Archer's example burned into his mind.

For now, Shirou would have to try and figure out how these Devils functioned. While the name Devil was quite ominous, Shirou figured that if the Fallen Angels, who were also supposed to be evil and vile, contained individuals like Azazel, then there was a good chance the Devils contained different individuals.

He would just have to judge them based on their personalities.

 _ **-Break—**_

Shirou couldn't help but grimace as he listened to Hyoudou Issei's perverted ramblings.

Sure, the info he had been given said that the boy was perverted, but Shirou had completely failed to prepare for just how insane he was.

Perhaps he had just hoped that someone sharing his friend's name wouldn't sully it…

He hadn't particularly sought the boy out, as a matter of fact, it was by pure chance that he had come across the most recent addition to Rias Gremory's Peerage while wandering during break-time.

Of course, what intrigued Shirou the most about Issei Hyoudou was that he had a scent similar to that of Vali, if only faintly. Was there something those two had in common?

According to Azazel's information the boy had a Sacred Gear known as the Boosted Gear, an item of terrifying power capable of doubling the wielder's power every so often. More notably it had the soul of a Dragon sealed within and was said to be capable of slaying even gods, giving it the title of Longinus.

Could that be it? He shook his head lightly. He had no way of telling right now, and with no desire to interact with the boy he started to move away.

Only to find himself faced with the stoic visage of the Student Council President.

"I hope you weren't seriously listening to that drivel Emiya-San." She opened.

Shirou smiled lightly and shook his head. "I was just astonished by how loudly he proclaims his perversion Shitori-Kaichou. What brings you here?"

"Nothing in particular. I had considered telling them to quiet down, but it seems I don't need to."

In response to those words, and the fact that Hyoudou Issei had indeed stopped talking, Shirou turned around only to find that the boy was being dragged away by a tiny white-haired girl that he identified as Toujou Koneko, another member of Rias' Peerage, who was supposedly a Nekomata Youkai before reincarnation.

"Huh." He couldn't help but make such a sound, especially when he noticed Issei's friends lying on the ground twitching.

Sona cleared her throat, prompting Shirou to turn back to her. "I hope you haven't had any trouble fitting in?"

"None at all. Although I haven't been able to make any acquaintances yet."

"That's fine. As long as you don't cause any trouble or start associating with troublesome people…" Shirou had little difficulty imagining who those people may be. "I'm certain you will be able to find a few."

"I'll try."

She chuckled softly. "Now then, I'm afraid I need to go. Duty calls."

Shirou watched her leave for a bit before moving on himself.

Sona Sitri, heiress of the Sitri clan and one of two High-class Devils in Kuoh Academy who effectively runs the entirety of Kuoh. Hailed as a genius…

And he thought she had similarities with Tohsaka back when he first met her.

 _ **-Break—**_

The rest of the day passed… not uneventfully, by any stretch, he got offers from various clubs and he could have sworn some of the girls were trying to lure him in some specific direction during the lunch-break, although he did manage to lose them in the end.

But now he had managed to start heading home without any following, which shouldn't have been a problem but…

Regardless, this meant he didn't have any problem calling out to the person lurking about.

"What are you doing Vali?"

His fellow ward emerged from his previous position after a few moments, presumably making sure he wouldn't be noticed by someone else. Of course, if Shirou had any reason to suspect someone might see or hear them he wouldn't have called out, but he could appreciate the fact that it seemed Vali wasn't entirely without caution

"Heh, to think you would notice me. You really aren't an ordinary human. Of course, the old man wouldn't take you in if you were." The way Vali was looking at him foreshadowed his next words. "So how strong are you? I heard you incapacitated Mittelt without getting injured yourself, so unless you had help you have to be at least somewhat capable."

He was probably trying to figure out if Shirou was worth his time, with most likely only the fact Mittelt was considered quite lowly amongst the Fallen Angels keeping Vali from just straight up challenging him.

Well, that, and that they were in the middle of Devil territory right next to two daughters of high nobility, who also happened to be the younger sisters of two of their leaders.

"I don't know. But I don't think I could satisfy you." While Shirou had some confidence in his abilities, he had yet to properly grasp how he matched up to those around him. Vali especially was not someone he had any idea how he measured up. "I'll reiterate, what are you doing?"

Vali looked somewhat unhappy but did give an answer. "Observing. Both you and the new Red Dragon Emperor." He said with a shrug. Red Dragon Emperor? That was… a title given to the wielder of the Boosted Gear, right? "You seem a bit confused. Didn't the old man tell you? I am the White Dragon Emperor, wielder of Divine Dividing. He and I are destined rivals. Too bad he's such utter trash." The teen almost seemed dejected.

While Shirou wanted to believe that Vali was disappointed in his rival's unrepentant and rampant perversion, it was far more likely that it had to do with something else.

Hyoudou Issei was the weakest wielder of the Boosted Gear to date.

The young Magus couldn't help but sigh. "I'm heading home. Will you be headed there as well, or are you going elsewhere?" He then asked.

He'd prefer to have some warning if he needed to cook for extra people.

A wide grin appeared on Vali's face. "Heh, obviously I'm going to stop by, your cooking is great! And I need to tell Azazel I'm in the area…"

 _ **-Break—**_

"See? I told you he would get tangled up in something if we just dropped him in Kuoh." An old man said.

"I never doubted you. But I still think we could have tried to make it even more interesting." A booming voice echoed in respond, originating from a massive red dragon.

"Now now, I usually find it best to just let things play out without too much influence."

The dragon seemed somewhat sceptical but didn't try to argue. "Well, I suppose he's already provided some entertainment, and he most certainly promises more."

* * *

 **Author's notes: Well, this wasn't quite the plan. I haven't got the foggiest clue where I'm going right now, but I'm sure we'll end up somewhere interesting. Hopefully I haven't done anything too outrageous, but in case you do think so, please also give a explanation about what I did wrong. It might help. Being constructive usually helps.**

 **I hope you enjoyed, and that you have a nice day.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I own neither Fate/Stay Night nor High School DxD  
**

* * *

Shirou was standing more or less in the middle of an excessively large room that he was quite uncertain if it had always been there or if Azazel prepared it more recently, because the Fallen Angel was somewhat unclear when he explained it.

What hadn't been unclear was that the room was meant for training. Both in terms of sparring and other methods.

In this specific case it was archery, and Shirou was carefully eyeing the targets in front of him, judging the distance to be just about right for archery practise.

At least for 弓道 (kyudou, approx. "Way of the bow") practise. Problem was, that wasn't what he was there for.

He eyed the European, no, Welsh…? Well, it was still from a place in Europe, so he supposed it was European, Longbow in his hand.

It was surprisingly ordinary considering he had asked Azazel to provide it. It was made from normal wood, by a skilled but ordinary bowyer… No magical enchantments, divine blessings or dark curses.

The only thing that really stood out was that it dated back to the 13th-century yet looked as if had been made just yesterday. It didn't even have all that much history.

He sighed, pushed all that to the back of his mind and tried to figure out how he was supposed to actually use it.

While Shirou was no newcomer to archery, there was a reason his future self was summoned into Archer, there was a distinct difference between a 弓 (yumi, bow), which he was familiar with, and a Longbow in terms of how you used them, what stance to take…

Simply put, there was enough of a difference that he couldn't just pick up a Longbow and start shooting.

But he needed to figure this out. He was going to need a lot more firepower in the future, and one of the ways he could get that was through Archer's bow. Problem was, it was a Longbow, or at least something close to that.

Normally he shouldn't have been able to even Project the weapon due to the fact it was made out of materials that had yet to be discovered but… Maybe it had been a side-effect of their resonance but, he somehow could.

He took a shot.

He didn't miss quite as badly as he had expected, but he still missed the target completely.

"I thought you said you were good at archery?" Mittelt suddenly chimed, presumably having just arrived.

"Sure, Japanese style archery." He responded, nocking another arrow.

"Then why are you trying to use European?"

Another arrow flew, this time just barely missing its target.

"I'm trying to broaden my repertoire."

The petite Fallen didn't seem particularly convinced.

This time the arrow struck the target about two circles in.

Shirou couldn't help but be a little annoyed. "If you're just here to-" He started, only to stop when Mittelt forcibly shifted his front foot.

"A bit more like this…?" She said, pondering something before taking a few steps back and looking at him. "Could you draw the bow again? You don't need to actually shoot any arrow, just draw the bow."

He was slightly confused but did comply, nocking an arrow and drawing the bow.

"Hmm… Better?" She muttered while moving around him, looking more at his arms. Then she suddenly shifted his back foot a bit. "Like this?"

She skipped away slightly to get a better look and nodded slightly.

Feeling somewhat confused Shirou let the bow slacken, as holding a bowstring taut was actually excruciatingly taxing.

"What are you doing?" He asked, genuinely confused.

"Trying to fix your stance. You're clearly trying to imitate a stance you've seen before, but it didn't quite seem right to me." She responded.

Shirou considered his new stance and drew again, slowly realising that it was actually closer to Archer's, which he had indeed been trying to imitate, than before.

He let the arrow fly.

The accuracy didn't actually go up of course, especially seeing as he was distracted, but it did feel better.

"How…?"

"I've seen people use that type of bow before, in a number of conflicts… So, I cross-referenced how those people looked with what you seemed to be going for…"

He couldn't help but stare at her blankly.

"What, I'm older than I look you know!" She exclaimed with a pout. "And I am an Angel after all… This much is just to be expected…"

The young Magus smiled wryly and nocked another arrow. "I guess… It kind of slipped my mind with how… well, normal you seemed these past few days."

"Normal?" Mittelt asked with a disbelieving look. "How… how do you define… No, you know what? I'm not even going to ask."

The petite girl chucked a light-spear, which struck home right in the centre of a target, made a slightly complicated face and then left.

Shirou had no other course of action than to shrug and continue shooting.

Practise made perfect.

That was something that hadn't changed. And EMIYA Shirou was someone who had persevered by perfecting what he had.

So that was what he would do…

 _ **-Break—**_

"Admiring his form?"

Mittelt had been standing, well, admiring Shirou's form she supposed when she was broken out of it by a new voice.

"Vali… You're still here?" She sighed. "I suppose."

The Devil laughed. "Well, he does have some great form… And those muscles…" At this point the Magus' shirt was clinging close, revealing his physique. "For a human his age that's an impressive physique. You can't help but admire it."

"I can't tell if you want to fight him… or fuck him right now." That was of course a lie. The way Vali was looking at Shirou left no real doubt.

He laughed again. "Well, on the contrary I have no such doubts." His gaze clearly went from her face to her feet and back again. "Still, I thought you didn't care about such things considering the way you look."

Mittelt felt herself become flustered. "Wh-what's that supposed to mean!?" Vali simply walked away with another laugh and a nonchalant wave of his hand.

She sighed as the White Dragon Emperor disappeared.

"It's not like I don't have my reasons…" She muttered.

"Mittelt? Did you want something?" Shirou suddenly said from right behind her, prompting her to quickly turn in a startled fashion.

"Shirou! N-no, I was just checking up on you… You'd been at it for a while after all…"

Well, it wasn't untrue…

"I see." She couldn't quite tell if he believed her or not. Mostly because the smile he had on his face was there a little bit too often "Well, I think the time spent paid off. Oh, and thanks for the help."

"That was nothing. Just repaying some of my debt."

The auburn-haired youth's smile widened slightly, indicating that he found something amusing. "If you say so. Now, if you'll excuse me, I am going to take a quick shower and then start preparing food."

"That sounds good."

As Shirou passed Mittelt let her eyes rove over him, just for a little bit. As Vali had said, the youth's physique was exceptional for a human his age and was nowadays really only something you'd see on a Hero or maybe someone really into athletic pursuits.

Of course, he claimed to be neither of those, and Mittelt was pretty certain that he wasn't the latter…

She shook her head.

There wasn't really any point in thinking too hard about it right now. Besides, Lord Azazel had also said that Shirou wasn't a Hero, just a kind of magic-user.

She looked at the target that Shirou had been using, noting the absurd number of bullseyes that seemed to have hit it.

Yes, because there were so many magic-users that were this good with a bow…

 _ **-Break—**_

A week had managed to pass since his enrolment at Kuoh Academy, and he was starting to get used to things.

He hadn't really made any progress in becoming acquainted with anyone, Sona remained the person he was most familiar with, somehow.

Really, he blamed the number of girls that would try to talk to him at any given moment of free time, which prevented him from actually getting to know anyone.

So it was that ironically, it was the schemes of these girls that provided him with his first proper acquaintance at Kuoh Academy.

Yuuto Kiba, the most popular male at the school and, judging by the sounds made when they met, someone the girls had wanted him to meet for some time.

Heck, he could swear it seemed like they wanted the two of them to…

Well… He wanted to say become friends but… It was clearly a more intimate relationship they hoped for.

Well, unfortunately for them Shirou had no interest in guys, and it didn't particularly seem like Kiba did either.

He did on the other hand help his fellow male get away from the girls, which was the start of their acquaintance.

"Emiya Shirou I presume?" The handsome boy queried as they both breathed out.

"Yeah, and you would then be Yuuto Kiba I suppose?" The auburn-haired youth responded, although he was fully aware of who he was talking to.

After all, Yuuto Kiba was the Knight of Rias Gremory, a Reincarnated Devil. Thankfully having interacted a few times with Sona Sitri meant that Shirou had no misgivings originating from that fact.

The Knight laughed. "It seems we've both heard of each other, although I suppose it would be more odd otherwise."

"Perhaps. Although I'm still not sure why I'm apparently so famous."

"Probably this." Kiba said and produced a photograph.

A photograph of Shirou without a shirt on from shortly before he joined the school. He even knew which exact moment it was. He'd been helping out and was changing back into his normal shirt.

"How…?"

"Who knows? But the Photography club does have some members that could have done it. The moment they realised this was you it was all over."

Shirou grimaced slightly. While it could have been ordinary happenstance, there was someone that might have been interested in spreading an image like this amongst the girls of Kuoh…

Please don't let it have been Azazel's doing…

The blonde laughed again. "Then again, I'm not sure you'd have gotten away even if this picture didn't exist."

"What's that supposed to mean?" The Magus raised an eyebrow.

"By the way, I hope you have a lunchbox, because I don't think going to the cafeteria is an option right now."

"I have one, no worries." Shirou held up his lunchbox.

They both sat down. Kiba had led them to a somewhat secluded part of the roof that apparently offered some privacy, somehow.

"Itadakimasu." The three of them said in unison.

Hang on…

Three of them…?

Slowly Shirou turned his head to look at the newcomer.

Toujou Koneko.

The Knight laughed, presumably at the youth's stupefied expression.

And in the time this interaction had taken the tiny girl had already devoured most of the food items she had brought.

"Don't worry, she's with me… although you seem to have at least figured that much." While Kiba's expression was filled with mirth, there was something of an odd glint in his eyes.

Shirou chuckled awkwardly and scratched the back of his head.

"I didn't realise when she joined us is all…"

"Was waiting." Came the curt and stoic reply of Koneko.

"I eat here rather often, and so does she." Kiba clarified.

"Secluded."

"I see… Makes sense I suppose. I'm Emiya Shirou, nice to meet you Toujou-san!"

"Likewise."

Note to self. Toujou Koneko does not talk much. He supposed it made sense considering her past.

Shirou made a monumental effort to have his face remain neutral, then dug into his food.

Oh yes, Azazel's data even contained information about the past of these people, who they once were, before becoming servants of Rias Gremory.

It was probably another reason why he didn't see them in a negative light.

They didn't choose to become Devils, but were rather saved by becoming Devils, or well, servants of Rias in the case of Koneko.

Heck, Azazel even directly said himself that they're probably better off like this.

So despite Rias not giving them a choice, he didn't see her in a negative light either.

At least not because of that.

This was all too damned complicated.

"So, what did you do to achieve that physique Shirou?" Kiba suddenly asked, and he seemed to be genuinely curious.

"Training and manual labour, regularly for a good portion of my life, that's all."

"Makes sense I suppose. Are you planning to join any clubs?"

"Not really. I just want to finish my schooling."

"Is that so? You seem like you would do well in quite a few clubs though." Kiba pointed at Shirou with his chopsticks.

"I don't care about doing well. Even back when I was in a club I didn't."

"Really, which one?"

"Archery. I quit due to… circumstances…"

"Archery? That's… not what I was expecting I have to admit."

"How about you? Are you in any club?" Shirou returned, although it was quite insincere and mostly for keeping up appearances.

He knew full well which club his company for lunch belonged to.

"The Occult Research Club. Both me and Koneko-chan belong to it. It might seem a bit odd of a choice but…"

The Occult Research Club. Its members were exclusively made up of members of Rias' peerage.

A front for them to associate during and after school hours while in the school.

"Well, yeah. Neither of you seem like you would be particularly interested in the Occult at first glance."

"Interested." Koneko chimed in while munching on a sweet she'd procured from… somewhere.

"You know the saying, don't judge a book by its cover? It applies here."

"True."

"Was there something else you did besides archery at your previous school?" Kiba then asked after a short bit of companionable silence.

"Well… I guess I did help the Student Council quite a bit… Was friends with the President you see."

"I… see. Are you considering trying to join our Student Council?" There was something oddly… searching about that question.

"Don't think so. I don't know Shitori-Kaichou for one. Didn't actually join the one at my previous school for that matter either."

That, and he knew that the Student Council of Kuoh was exclusively for Sona Sitri's peerage.

Was that why Kiba asked in such an odd manner?

Did they have their eyes on him?

Probably.

Who knows what Azazel did to get him into Kuoh, and who knows how well they can notice that he sort of just appeared a little over a month ago.

"Has been seen together."

At first Koneko's declaration didn't make any sense at all, but then both Shirou and Kiba realised that the tiny girl was looking at Shirou, then that it might have something to do with the previous sentence.

"That's true, you have been seen talking with Kaichou quite a few times. Depending on what part of the rumour mill you listen to the two of you seem to get along." The blonde said with a smile. "That's the more conservative parts of the rumour mill by the way."

Shirou couldn't help but sigh. "Figures. I've talked to her a few times, sure, and I suppose we do get along but… I still wouldn't say I know her at all."

Kiba laughed. "I'm not the one you need to convince."

Suddenly without warning Koneko handed Shirou a sweet. "Thanks, delicious."

He received the sweet and sat there staring at it in confusion.

Finally, the other male present provided an explanation. "You might not have noticed, but she stole parts of your lunch. I guess she decided to give you something in return."

"Wha-?"

So that was why the lunchbox seemed to contain less than he had expected…

He needed to be more on guard when it came to this innocent little bundle of gluttony.

Honestly, it was somewhat similar to Saber. Except Saber hadn't been particularly sneaky. Or quite that cute and tiny.

To be fair, it was probably that innocence that kept him from noticing. She held no ill will even as she stole his food.

Hopefully he would be able to pick up on it if she held hostility…

 _ **-Break—**_

"So, the long-awaited meeting finally occurred." Rias Gremory said as her peerage gathered in the Occult Research Club's clubroom.

"Please don't tell me you planned that Buchou." Kiba responded. "If you wanted information out of him you should have gone yourself or sent Akeno."

"Of course I didn't. It was a happy accident. The girls of the school planned it. So… what do you think?"

"He seems normal enough… Although his reaction to being surprised was a bit interesting. Anyway, I think he might know the truth about the ORC and Student Council, but I could be wrong."

"Why do we care about a handsome bastard like him?!" Issei exclaimed.

"Because we think he might have been attacked by a Fallen Angel." Akeno said.

"What?" The Knight said.

"According to Asia, Raynare's group consisted of four Fallen, Raynare included, but Akeno and I only killed two." Rias declared.

"And Raynare was alone…" Kiba realised.

"Wait… that's just three." Issei added.

"Indeed." The Queen said.

"Judging by what Buchou said… The Fallen she and Akeno-san killed were Kalawarner and Dohnaseek. That leaves Mittelt, who left on some task shortly before Issei and the others arrived…" Asia, their newest addition said.

"And you think this Mittelt attacked Emiya Shirou? Why?" Kiba queried.

"Before we left to resolve your mess, Emiya-san disappeared. By the time we arrived to investigate there were clear signs of battle, with small amounts of Fallen energy floating about." Rias explained.

"Any idea where this Mittelt is now?" Kiba asked.

"No. She's disappeared. Of course, we haven't asked the Grigori yet but…" Akeno said. "Koneko?"

"Uncertain. Seems different, and my instincts are confused about him…" The small girl responded.

"Confused?" Rias queried.

"On one hand he gave the impression of a sheathed sword… On the other kindness…" Koneko continued.

"You couldn't tell if he was dangerous or not?" Rias said. "Hmm… What do you think Sona? You've talked to him quite a few times, haven't you?"

"Is that really how you draw someone into a conversation?" Said girl said as she entered the room. "Is this what you called me here for? Well, there did seem to be a change in how he viewed not only me but also much else following that day… While I don't have the instincts of Koneko he has given me a rather good overall impression. He also feels like some type of magic-user. At the very least he isn't mundane."

"My oh my, what do you know. If dear Sona says so, then I can certainly believe it." Akeno said. "So? What do we think happened to our fourth Fallen?"

"She was either killed, captured or escaped. We don't know which it is at the moment." Sona elaborated. "The official response from the Grigori is that Raynare's group was out of line and that they had been committing a number of unsanctioned acts. Fortunately, they also gave us an official response on what happened to this Mittelt. 'The final member of Raynare's team, the Fallen Angel Mittelt, is currently receiving punishment.' The question would be if we want to believe them."

"Well, we didn't have to prompt them about it, which indicates they wanted to be forthright with us. Another question though would be what that punishment actually was? We don't know." Rias said.

"So if she attacked Emiya he might have turned her over to the Grigori? That would mean he is in contact with them…" Kiba said.

"But he is not someone I've ever heard about." Sona stated.

"Should we try talking to him?" Rias suggested.

Sona sighed. "Well… it would probably be better than overthinking this whole thing… Do you want to handle it? Or should I handle it? Or… should we do it together?"

"Hmm… Well, I don't want to put my cute servants into unnecessary danger but…" Rias pondered.

"Then how about just the Kings and Queens? Between the four of us he would have to be exceptionally more dangerous than expected." Akeno proposed.

"That is not a bad suggestion." Sona agreed. "What do you say Rias?"

"I suppose that is a good compromise. So, here or the Student Council office? I imagine calling him to the Student Council would be rather easy, but this room offers more seclusion and comforts."

"Probably better to call him to the Student Council. In case he's hostile it might be better to have a confrontation in the main school building where he might hesitate to cause damage as well as avoiding showing this room and its contents."

"Sounds good. Is he still here?" Rias said.

"No. Left not too long ago. He seems to have gotten caught up helping the Home Economics club with something, but otherwise he usually leaves rather quickly." Sona provided.

"After school tomorrow then?"

"We'll go with that."

 _ **-Break—**_

"Asia Argento?" Shirou asked as he was handed a new folder.

"Yes, she's a new addition to Rias Gremory's peerage. I'd have gotten it to you sooner, but we didn't find out about it immediately, and then it took a little time to gather the data." Azazel explained.

"Wait… Asia Argento?!" Mittelt exclaimed.

"You know her?" Shirou queried.

"She was with us… actually… She might be the reason they got into a fight with the Gremory heiress…" Mittelt said.

"Well, yeah. I wouldn't be surprised if they started figuring things out. Your little skirmish left traces that the Devils have noticed, so it's probably only a matter of time before they simply just call you up and question you Shirou." Azazel added.

The young Magus sighed. "How bad is it?"

"Well, the Gremory and Sitri heiresses are young, and not particularly known for bloodthirst. They probably won't try to kill you as long as you don't give them a reason. Which reminds me, Shirou, how about joining the Grigori? We'll protect you." Azazel's smile was quite dazzling, but…

"Wouldn't that be a reason to try and kill me? Besides, I think I'd rather not join any of the factions."

Mittelt seemed like she wanted to say something, but she once again refrained from it.

"That's probably still fine, although I would prefer if the person I helped get on his feet had some protection. Still, you probably shouldn't deny any connections to the Grigori, if they figure Mittelt here attacked you then they would already know that you have one." Azazel instead said in a weirdly cheerful manner.

"How about I call it a business partnership? I'm just doing a job for you."

"About that… probably don't mention it. You'll probably ruin any chance to become acquainted with Himejima if you do. Speaking of which, how is she?"

"I haven't talked to her yet, but from what I've been able to see she seems to be at least somewhat fine. She at least seems to be having a nice school life. But is it really that bad?"

"Worse. Well, ultimately its up to you to decide what cards you want to put on the table, especially seeing as you're not part of the Grigori. Just… please play it carefully. I do actually care."

"Thank you, I will. For now, I'd rather not become enemies with them. I'd like to actually finish school honestly."

"Wait… I'm being watched by a third party!? I thought he was at least part of the Grigori… what with being a ward of Azazel and all…"

"I could arrange for you to be transferred to someone else." Azazel said with a knowing smirk.

"I-I'd rather not, honestly."

The Watcher's smirk just grew wider.

* * *

 **Author's notes: I have no idea what I am doing. A problem that is probably not going to get better any time soon. I've gotten a few ideas for plot points I want to have, but they aren't exactly in the immediate future. Oh well, we'll just have to see. My brain has a wonderful tendency to suddenly decide something is a good idea, and usually it isn't... On the other hand it has also resulted in some of my better ideas, so I'll never know until it's too late.**

 **I hope you enjoyed and that you have a nice day.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I own neither Fate/Stay Night nor High School DxD  
**

* * *

Kiba was wary of him. The Knight was hiding it, and quite well too, but he wasn't hiding it perfectly.

This told Shirou that the Devils were most likely about to make a move. It was earlier than he had hoped, but not than he had expected, and he and Azazel had gone over a few scenarios yesterday as well.

Even so he certainly felt a bit nervous, worried things might go poorly…

He glanced over at Koneko, who unlike Kiba seemed entirely unfazed, although if that was due to her hiding it better, not caring or if it was due to her muted emotions was another question entirely.

He sighed internally. It wasn't worth dwelling on, neither the coming confrontation nor Koneko's state of being.

While it hurt him to admit, he didn't really have any way of helping the girl at the moment, not unless she approached him, which wasn't exactly very likely.

Well, he also supposed he didn't have any way of knowing for sure that she needed help. But he was no stranger to trauma. He knew how difficult it was to overcome.

"Shirou, do you often help people?" Kiba suddenly asked.

The suddenness of the question made Shirou stop and simply look at the blonde for just a bit too long.

"Sorry to confuse you, I heard that you've been helping the clubs, and during our previous conversation you said you used to help the Student Council at your previous school quite often. So I wondered." The Knight continued, looking a bit sheepish, which was an indication that he hadn't thought the question through and had simply thrown it out.

"Ah, no. It's no problem. I was taken a bit off guard by the suddenness of the question." Shirou responded. "I… guess. Force of habit really. I like helping people, and did so a lot back in my hometown…"

A short-lived pang of nostalgia came up as he thought about Fuyuki.

"Really? Won't you get taken advantage of like that?" A slight hint of bitterness seeped into Kiba's voice.

"Perhaps." The auburn-haired youth smiled slightly. "But as long as they bear no ill will, I don't particularly care."

This time it was Kiba's turn to stare, perhaps due to uncertainty of what to say, and even Koneko was now looking at Shirou with a puzzled gaze.

But before anything more could be said they realised that lunch time was almost over, and they hastily dispersed to their respective classrooms.

After that the day proceeded as normal until the end of classes.

"Emiya Shirou-San. I request that you accompany me to the Student Council office."

A girl with long black hair, glasses and heterochromia had marched straight up to his seat and declared this.

Shinra Tsubaki, Queen of Sona Sitri's peerage and Vice-President of the Student Council.

"Well, this is a surprise. I didn't think I'd done anything to warrant summons." Shirou responded with a light smile while rising from his seat. "Lead the way."

He was partially being honest. He was pretty certain he'd done nothing to warrant being summoned by the Student Council.

So it was far more likely that he was being summoned by Sona Sitri of house Sitri, one of the 72 pillars, rather than Shitori Souna, Student Council President of Kuoh Academy.

Still, he wouldn't make unnecessary assumptions. It was fully possible that it really was Student Council business.

He could hear quite a few murmurs in the classroom as they left, but it seemed to be more speculation that he might join the Student Council, and less that he was in trouble for something.

He noted Koneko looking at them from a tree, but unfortunately it seemed she realised as she disappeared.

Well, when they finally arrived at the Student Council office it became rather clear, as there were only three people in there as far as he could tell.

Two pure-blooded Devils, most likely Sona and Rias, and the mixture of Devil and Fallen that was Himejima Akeno.

He'd be very surprised if it wasn't Devil business.

"Kaichou, I've brought Emiya Shirou." Tsubaki said as she opened the door, letting Shirou through before closing it.

He noted a few things as he entered the room. The first was that it was lavishly furnished with solid desks, bookshelves and even a chess board, a stark contrast to the Homurahara Student Council office which was quite spartan.

The second was that there was another bounded field here, separate from the one covering the school, presumably to protect the room.

Thirdly he noted Sona sitting at the largest desk, with Rias lounging in a chair right next to it and Akeno behind her, while Tsubaki moved to take up position behind her King.

And, of course, the fourth thing he noted. The small leathery wings that each of the Devils were sporting, with Tsubaki manifesting hers once she reached her position.

Well, looks like he wasn't about to be surprised.

Don't get him wrong, it was still odd to see these otherwise quite normal looking girls with wings, but he'd gotten used to Mittelt's wings, which weren't all that different.

"No reaction at all. I must say I'm just a tad bit disappointed." Rias said with a playful pout.

"Rias, please, we were expecting this. We didn't open with the wings out to shock him." Sona responded with a small sigh.

Okay, they could banter. That meant they probably weren't on edge. That's good.

Akeno and Tsubaki maintained a silent front, signalling that they weren't there to talk, but as a show of force. Or just to defend their Kings. Quite likely both.

Akeno also showed none of the lady-like air she usually did, instead opting for a more… devilish air that promised pain if he didn't cooperate or made a bad move.

Tsubaki on the other hand maintained the same strict discipline she usually had.

"I guess this means I should address you as Sona Sitri, Kaichou." Shirou said as he made his way over to the empty chair in front of Sona's desk.

"I'd rather our conversation not be coloured too much by my status as heiress of house Sitri, but if you insist." Sona replied.

"I would also like it if you didn't focus too much on my status Emiya-San." Rias followed.

He sighed and sat down. "Understood, Sitri-Kaichou, Gremory-San."

The raven-haired heiress seemed slightly surprised at his choice but said nothing. The crimson-haired girl on the other hand still seemed somewhat displeased.

"Use Rias instead, Gremory-San sounds really stuffy."

"As you wish Rias-San." He responded with a smile.

Rias nodded with a pleased look, then suddenly became serious. "With that out of the way, Emiya-San, are you an agent of the Grigori?"

The atmosphere of the room changed instantly, and Shirou was immediately reminded that he was faced with a high-power formation that he had no confidence in being able to defeat.

Well, if they wanted to pressure him fully they should probably have stationed their Queens behind him to more fully cut off his escape-routes, but he simply took it as a small blessing.

Well, he had a trump card up his sleeve, although he'd rather not have to use it, as it would make things extremely complicated. Especially since he sincerely doubted that guy had talked to Azazel about it.

"I am not. I've worked with them before, but I am here on my own volition." He responded, then laughed sheepishly and scratched the back of his head. "I just wanted to finish my schooling and somehow managed to miss that this was your territory."

"While I find that somewhat hard to believe, I'll accept your explanation Emiya-San." Sona said without betraying any emotion. "What do you think Rias?"

"I suppose… but it does raise a question. I have never heard about you before Emiya-San, and neither has anyone I've asked." Rias followed up suspiciously.

Shirou got the feeling this was rehearsed. Either that, or they were quite in synch. He could believe either one based on what he knew about them.

"I am simply not someone worth knowing about. A small-time third-rate who just happens to have done some small work for the Grigori." He responded with a wry smile and a shake of his head.

"A small-time third-rate Human who can deal with a Fallen?" Sona questioned. "And just to make this clear, when I investigated the site of the battle I encountered traces of two energies, one from a Fallen and one from an unknown type of magic."

Claiming it was someone else… wouldn't help this situation. And he wasn't sure he could get away with such a bold-faced lie. And there was no way it wouldn't complicate things in the future…

"I simply caught her off-guard and subdued her before she could properly react. She was just a bit too arrogant for her own good." More half-truths it was. Heck, this was mostly exactly what happened.

None of the Devils seemed particularly convinced but no one raised any objections or further questions.

Finally, Sona sighed. "I really don't know what I was expecting. One last question, why didn't you reveal yourself to us once you found out this was our territory?"

"Well… I just wanted to finish my schooling normally without incident and hoped you wouldn't notice. It was too late to switch schools, so I had no real choice and made a perhaps unfortunate decision." He stood up from his chair and bowed. "I apologise if I caused any undue concern."

The apology was honest. He really did feel bad about possibly having caused them concern.

This seemed to catch them completely off-guard as apart from an "Oh my" from Akeno, coincidentally being the first thing she said this entire meeting, silence reigned in the room.

This was then broken by Rias laughing. "Wow, I did not expect that. Well, I think we can keep him around. Maybe we can ask him to do a few jobs for us. How about you Sona?"

"I agree. It would only be fair if he is to stay here. We'll leave this here for now. We'll contact you again."

"Thank you for your understanding." Shirou said and left.

 _ **-Break—**_

"Well, that went better than expected." Vali said as Shirou entered the living room.

There was no sign of Azazel, and his shoes were nowhere to be seen either, so Shirou assumed he was out at the moment.

He also couldn't find Mittelt's shoes, which was somewhat more concerning, but this was alleviated when Vali chucked a note at him from Azazel stating that he had brought her along for some small business and that they would be back in time for dinner.

With that out of the way he turned towards his fellow ward.

"Yeah. Thankfully. I don't think Azazel would have appreciated if you got me out of there." He replied.

The Devil smiled. "Probably not. But I'm too interested to care. I have to know your limits first."

Shirou sincerely hoped he would never have to show Vali his full strength, considering the type of situation it would take to push him that far.

Of course, there was always the option of simply trying to go all out against Vali in a spar, but that was likely to go poorly, and Shirou couldn't quite bring himself to trust the youth.

While he felt that Vali held some respect for Azazel, he didn't seem like the type of person to let that stop him, and the current White Dragon Emperor seemed like someone who would be all to happy to get into a life and death battle with someone Azazel would rather he didn't.

Like Michael, or Lucifer. Very important people integral to achieving a formal peace treaty between the factions.

A treaty that probably wasn't all that interesting to someone like Vali.

He shook his head. He could be very wrong, simply missing a major piece of Vali's true character.

"I'll get started on dinner. It's about time and I'll see if I can get a bit fancy." Shirou said, not acknowledging Vali's words.

The Devil smiled in response, this time a more appreciating and normally excited one. "I'll look forward to it!"

Another day, another rowdy dinner to prepare for. But even if it got a bit rowdy, Shirou quite appreciated it.

He very much enjoyed when people enjoyed his food, since it meant that they had been brought at least a small bit of happiness, at least for a small amount of time…

He wondered how Fuji-Nee was doing… Or Sakura for that matter. How was it going back at home? Were they all doing well?

Rin…

A flash of memories caused him to stop. Rin chasing him through the school, Rin stopping him from rushing at Gilgamesh in Illya's mansion…

Rin refusing to remove her stockings…

"Caught in your past?" The sudden intrusion of a voice brought him back to reality.

He turned around to find Azazel standing in the doorway.

"Azazel…?"

"Hey, I'm back a little bit earlier than expected." The Watcher said and moved further into the kitchen, laying a hand on Shirou's shoulder. "I've seen it many times before, on many people…"

"I was remembering… friends, from back home."

"I'm pretty sure you were remembering more than just friends, but alright." The Fallen Angel had a benevolent smile on his face, although there was also a certain… sorrow, in his expression. "I'm sorry Shirou, but I don't think there is any way to return you to your home… I can only ask that you find a new life, here…"

"That's… fine…But, why are you bringing it up? I… understand that… I've been trying to…" Shirou found himself at a loss for words but couldn't explain why. His body was trembling, but he wasn't angry.

This feeling… This tightness in his chest…

Sorrow?

Azazel sighed softly. "Ah, I see… so you **do** get sad." He muttered.

That's right. This was the first time since he arrived in Kuoh that he showed this emotion…

He could barely remember when he last did…

He suddenly felt himself wrapped up in an embrace.

"It's alright to be sad." Azazel said.

Time passed without words, Shirou didn't know how long, until finally he took a deep breath and disengaged from the embrace, feeling just a little bit awkward if he was to be honest.

"They'll be fine. I can only believe so…" He scratched his cheek. "Thank you."

Shirou turned back towards the kitchen, considering what to make.

He did feel just a slight bit lighter than he had for the last month or so.

"I'll help you."

"You? Can you actually cook?"

"Who do you think I am? Of course I can."

"I wasn't aware you taught us cooking as well."

Azazel laughed. There was a light-heartedness to this exchange that helped Shirou further still his heart.

Perhaps somewhat unsurprisingly, Azazel could help out quite fine, although Shirou still did most of the cooking while the Watcher provided assistance.

The end result was a fine meal. Perhaps not better than what Shirou could produce on his own, but fine indeed.

And so another rowdy dinner came to pass.

 _ **-Break—**_

Shirou's summons to the Student Council office was the subject of many a murmur and whisper the next day.

Speculation, some reasonable, some coming directly from the wildest fantasies of girls (or boys) who he could only assume were fuelled by their adolescence…

It was slightly uncomfortable, but ultimately didn't change all that much…

So of course, Himejima Akeno has to approach him in public.

"Hello Emiya-San, do you have a moment? I would like to talk." She opened, fortunately maintaining her lady-like persona.

Shirou did not want to know how the other students would react if Akeno acted differently towards him out of the blue.

"I suppose I do. Do you want to talk here? Or…" He responded.

"There's a few too many eyes and ears around here…" Akeno said while letting her gaze move around the people around them, many of whom were standing around and staring, or making poor attempts at hiding that they were trying to listen.

With that they moved, and with a tiny bit of magic and some clever movements they found themselves alone.

Well, apart from a watchful Koneko, but he had no reason to worry about that, and preferred to hide that he noticed her.

He'd already slipped up once on that and would rather they think that was a fluke.

"So, what do you want?" He asked, maybe a bit more curtly than he'd have liked.

"Oh, I just wanted to talk to you. I've heard that you were interesting from Yuuto and Koneko and wanted to see for myself. Besides, we're going to be business associates, no?"

There was nothing lady-like about her now. Instead she was filled with mischief and with a more seductive quality.

"I see. I suppose I can humour you. What are we going to talk about first?"

"Let's see…" She made a show of pondering for a few moments before giving him a chilling smile. "How about we start with a simple question?" The smile flipped. "Do you know Barachiel?"

The way she said her father's name said quite a bit about why Azazel suggested he keep that he was supposed to keep an eye on her a secret.

This was more similar to how Rin would say Kirei's name than any way a child should say a parent's name…

Well, he didn't need to lie here.

"No. I have never met him. I honestly haven't met all that many Fallen beyond my primary contact."

Not that he actually had a primary contact or anything like that, but his established cover was that he had done work for the Grigori so…

"I see… forget I asked." She seemed… well, he didn't know how to put it at all. Dejected? Annoyed? "Well then! What do you think of our dear Student Council President Sona?"

"Kaichou? Why would you ask about…?" The sudden change in demeanour and somewhat odd subject threw Shirou off.

"Well, she is the fine lady within the school that you have interacted with the most. Quite possibly one of the only." A mischievous smirk now adorned her lips, and any traces of her first question had been blown away.

"Well…" He scratched his cheek and tried to figure out what to say. "She's… proper…? And seems a bit strict? But I guess I feel like I can probably rely on her?"

"How vague… And dull. Is that your view of her as Student Council President? What about as a girl?"

Shirou suspected she intentionally made a motion that made her breasts move, all the while intently studying his face.

Most boys would probably become quite flustered, being asked their opinion of a beautiful girl by a beautiful girl who is also staring at their face.

And, of course, many of them would probably get at least slightly distracted by her bountiful bosom.

Shirou did feel slightly flustered, he was by no means immune to feminine charm. But he didn't let it show, and he maintained observation of her entire body, for any signs of an attack.

He wasn't quite ready to trust her that much.

He sighed. "She's… certainly beautiful. Worthy of her high praise." He couldn't quite prevent a faint dusting of red from appearing on his cheeks.

"Oh my, what's this? Could it be?" The smile and fake excitement that radiated from Akeno raised a suspicion in Shirou.

"Himejima-San, please don't pretend like you think I have feelings for Shitori-Kaichou." He interjected in a deadpan before she could continue her little spiel.

It was a pre-emptive strike based on little more than a guess but considering that her smile dropped away he suspected it had landed.

"Well, someone's hard to crack… Is it because your guard is up? You are not looking at me like a boy looking at a girl, nor are you looking at me like a person having a casual conversation…"

"Sorry about that. I don't quite trust you just yet."

"So honest." A smirk appeared on her lips. "You won't trust me easily, like I might expect from someone having worked with the Grigori, but you also don't irrationally hate me…"

"As I said, I've only done some small things for the Grigori, I've never been big on religion."

"I see." She chuckled. Why did she look like she had gotten something out of that? "I'll look forward to working with you. Nice going noticing Koneko by the way."

With those last words, Himejima Akeno left with a wink and a smile.

 _ **-Break—**_

"By the way, are you familiar with the rules of chess?" Vali suddenly said while twirling a Queen piece.

Shirou had been sitting in the living room reading up on some homework while Vali lounged nearby when this question had been posed.

"What?" He said and looked up from the book.

"I was trying to figure out something to pass the time and came across the thought of playing chess."

"I'm afraid I've never played chess before. I have a passing familiarity with it but…"

"I see. That's a shame. Would you like to learn? My fellow Devils are quite fond of it, and it is well-known that this holds even more true for Sona Sitri. It might be advantageous to at least know it if you are to be dealing with Devils." The Devil explained with a smirk.

Shirou took a few moments to consider, then sighed and but the book away. "I guess it couldn't hurt to at least learn the basics. Although I must say you don't exactly strike me as someone who would care about chess."

"Not particularly, no. But I do know how to play it. I don't think I could beat particularly many of my 'peers', but hey."

"You're just bored, aren't you?"

"Heh, you got me." Vali set up the chess board.

After this he started explaining each piece, how they moved and what other quirks they might have while demonstrating using the board and a series of games. He actually did a surprisingly good job, and Shirou found that he at least understood the basics.

They then had a semi-proper game where Vali still kept explaining while they played, and once that was done they had a game without any explaining that went better than expected for Shirou, although he still lost.

He managed to predict a few of Vali's moves, and felt like he could see some of the potential moves.

"Not bad Shirou." Vali said, seemingly genuinely impressed.

"Yeah, but he needs a plan." Azazel suddenly said from behind Shirou. "Still, seems like you have a good analysis Shirou."

"Was it really anything special? It didn't feel like I did that well." Shirou responded.

"It wasn't terrible for a beginner." Vali said.

"Don't worry Shirou, I'll give you some hints for a plan." Azazel said happily and started resetting the board.

Shirou tried looking towards Vali, but the youth had disappeared.

The next few hours were spent getting advice from Azazel, who seemed excessively happy for some reason, and before he knew it the subject had broadened into more than just chess.

On the upside he now knew a few plans for the next time he played chess…

And a bit of advice what he should do if he got into a fight with Devils or Angels of various ranks…

And, oddly enough, advice on what to do if he specifically got into a spar with Gabriel, although he tuned out somewhere in the middle of it because Azazel was starting to go into weird instructions.

He was pretty sure he would have higher priorities than getting to observe her bosom or rear-end…

* * *

 **Author's notes: Well, here we go again. Hopefully there isn't something here that everyone will get hung up on, I can only take so much of people saying the (more or less) same thing. But I suppose if people dislike the way I decided to do some characterisation then it's fine if they tell me. Pointing out errors is also fine, especially if they are related to the DxD side of things.**

 **I hope you enjoyed and that you have a nice day.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I own neither Fate/Stay Night nor High School DxD  
**

* * *

Shirou was being pressured in a way he hadn't for quite some time, desperately defending against blows that threatened to cause serious damage, a bit like a middle-ground between facing Saber in a spar and the life and death struggle against Archer…

Well, both Vali and Azazel had insisted that there was no danger thanks to a series of magics and some level of restraint on Vali's part, but that certainly didn't stop his subconscious from screaming danger, and it certainly didn't stop them from hurting.

To clarify, he was sparring with Vali, and this was far from the first time.

It had been enlightening to Shirou, to face someone who by the standards of this world was strong.

Because the guy seemed like he could stand up to a Servant, and he wasn't even using Divine Dividing. Well, from what Shirou understood of the Sacred Gear, it would allow Vali to stand up to any Servant without issue, since it could probably work on Noble Phantasms and their attacks.

On the one hand, Shirou appreciated this pressure though, as it allowed him to push his limits and skills as he frantically searched for ways to overcome the assault and counterattack, trying things like baiting attacks, which was promising if risky, but Vali was catching on and it had yet to provide him with a chance to counterattack, not to mention the guy not always even noticing the bait, leaving its usefulness in this situation dubious.

So, he had little choice but to try and comprehend every move and follow-up so that he could have a countermove prepared before the attack was complete, which was proving a challenge due to the lightning-pace and Vali's continuous attempts not to be predictable, not to mention the difference in power and speed. Still, he was making headway, steadily improving.

On the other hand, Vali was slowly pressuring him into a corner, trying to make him show more of his cards. Shirou had already shown the ability to Trace swords into the air and fire them like missiles, although Shirou had kept it to relatively ordinary blades, not to mention the number of times Kanshou or Bakuya had shattered and been Traced again, showing there was no limit.

He had also on multiple occasions almost tried to use a more powerful Noble Phantasm because he had surmised it might be effective but fought down the urge so as to not show any of that.

It probably wouldn't be the smartest idea to suddenly call out the name of Durandal and have its power activate, even if it could turn the tide of the spar. It was bad enough that he had already shown Kanshou and Bakuya's power to be drawn towards one another, as it meant Vali had realised they were more than just fine blades with some runes, but special weapons of the type one would find in legend.

Now he would eye every blade Shirou Traced, clearly wondering if it also had some power in it.

A sharp pain shot through the young boy as Kanshou shattered and he was sent flying, crashing into a rock which caused even more pain, before finding himself with the talons of Divine Dividing hovering over his heart.

"I yield." Shirou groaned, dismissing whatever Traced swords remained.

" **You have improved boy.** " A draconian voice said as the blue jewel on Divine Dividing flashed.

Albion, the dragon whose soul is trapped inside Divine Dividing and from whom its power is derived. He became interested in Shirou after apparently sensing the traces of another dragon in Shirou, one that was unknown to him.

Well, Shirou had no memory of ever being in contact with a Dragon, much less in such a way that its power would lie in him. Albion had surmised that it had been the result of a contract, but that it had been broken not too long ago, maybe a little over a month or two, but that only confused Shirou even more as that would place it before he arrived in Kuoh…

"While I agree, I have to say I'm disappointed I didn't get to see anything new this time." Vali added with a smirk and held out his gauntleted hand, which Shirou clasped so the Devil could pull him up.

"Please don't have crazy expectations of people Vali. I'm not that strong." The auburn-haired youth responded.

"Yet."

Shirou grimaced at Vali's response, yet he didn't try to retort. He'd already tried several times before, and, well… the White Dragon Emperor didn't listen to him at all.

Honestly, even Shirou himself had a hard time figuring out what it was Vali saw in him that caused him to be so certain he could be a worthwhile opponent, especially considering what Shirou had actually shown.

It's not like he thought Shirou had a Sacred Gear that could suddenly achieve Balance Breaker or something so…

Why?

Shirou looked at the youth as he wandered away, talking to Albion.

" **You raised the level too quickly again.** "

"I know, I know. I wanted to push him just a little harder, but I guess I got a bit carried away."

Shirou turned around to see Mittelt approach with a complicated expression, a little bit of worry, some awe… and… he wasn't really sure what he was actually seeing.

She had started having complicated expressions a lot lately, and Shirou was starting to have a sinking feeling about them, although he wasn't entirely sure why.

"Are you alright?" She asked, carefully touching the place where Vali's fist had connected to send him flying.

Shirou winced slightly, as it certainly hurt, although nothing was broken or anything like that.

"I'm fine. Bruised and battered, but no real damage."

Of course, he wouldn't have been fine if it wasn't for the protections Azazel had provided for their sparring, preventing not only bones from breaking from blunt trauma, but also Light Spears or other similar things from piercing through even skin.

The protections also went the other way, Shirou couldn't hurt Mittelt or Vali, although it was doubtful he could hurt Vali under normal circumstances.

Well, even Vali couldn't take Caladbolg II unscathed…

He hoped.

Well, that was dependent on Shirou being able to Trace it, change it into its arrow form, and shoot it from Archer's bow (any other bow Shirou had access to would never be able to handle it), without getting killed, either by overdoing it or because he's standing still for an extended period of time.

After all, it takes him a few seconds just to Trace it, and he was still having trouble with changing its form.

For now, he could forget breaking it, not just because he couldn't do it reliably, but also because he was certain it wouldn't end well.

He still needed to improve upon his ability to Trace and use Noble Phantasms, and while he could do so within this training space, he also didn't want anyone other than Azazel to see him using them.

Not yet.

Shirou was brought back to the present by Mittelt using magic to heal him, a somewhat pointless gesture, but he let her do it anyway, since last time he tried to stop her she got really upset.

Pointless or not, it was her magic, and she could use it as she wanted. That was more or less what she had said.

It wasn't like he didn't appreciate the gesture, but he did feel it was somewhat wasted.

Although he also got the distinct feeling she wasn't just doing it out of care, but with some ulterior motive, although it didn't seem to be malign…

He sighed softly.

Could it be that she…?

He wasn't certain. There were still things he didn't know about her or Fallen Angels in general, so he couldn't quite read her, or properly place what he did pick up on.

But…

If it was…

Then it meant things were getting more complicated than he'd like…

 _ **-Break—**_

"I hope you wouldn't mind coming to the Student Council office after school, Emiya-san?" Sona asked.

They'd been having a small conversation, nothing unusual, cordial and simple as they had several times before when she suddenly made this simple request as if it was nothing out of the ordinary.

This might, oddly enough, be the least eye-catching manner in which she could call him, as the student body was used to the two of them talking.

"That's fine. I'll see you then, Kaichou."

"Excellent. If you'll excuse me, it is about time for class to start."

Such a seemingly ordinary exchange of course hid the true nature of the request.

Most likely she wanted to discuss business. No guarantee, but over a week had passed since they confronted him, and this was the first time since then that he had been called.

He pushed down some concern over what the Devils may ask of him. Azazel had gone over a few of the possibilities, but even he didn't know for sure.

But he had reassured Shirou that they probably wouldn't be unreasonable.

Most likely they would want to figure out what he could do for them in the first place.

Honestly even he wondered about that.

His skills weren't that varied, especially not when it came to their world.

He sighed ever so softly and went on with his day.

He'd work this out.

The school day passed without anything unusual, depending on your definition of unusual, and it wasn't long before he stood before the doors to the Student Council office.

Inside he sensed only Devils, and it seemed to be the entire Student Council.

If Akeno wasn't there then probably neither were Rias.

Odd, but not outside expectations.

He entered to find the Student Council going about their usual work, with, as he had suspected, no Rias in sight.

Sona looked up from some papers as he entered and gave him a small smile. "Ah, Emiya-san. Good of you to come."

This caused the other members of the Student Council, sans Tsubaki, to glance over in his direction, not able to hide a slight amount of nervousness.

Shirou couldn't blame them. He was sure there were still some suspicion amongst the Devils towards him, and he had never really interacted with any of them.

He recognised them, of course, having seen them around school, and he had data on them as well, although they weren't quite as notable as the members of Rias' peerage.

More synergistic than individually powerful seemed to be a theme of Sona Sitri's peerage, a reflection of her more tactical mindset.

"I could hardly refuse. Rias-san isn't here today?" He responded.

"No, she has her own matters to attend to. She might call you on her own at some later date."

Sona put down the papers and gestured towards the chess table. There wasn't really anywhere else to sit, so he seated himself by the black pieces.

He got a sinking feeling she was actually going to challenge him to a game of chess while they were discussing, a possibility that had been brought up as somewhat likely, but that he had hoped she wouldn't.

"Emiya-san, you are a Magician, right?" She queried as she seated herself on the opposite side.

Magician. The most commonly used term for Human users of magic.

"I prefer Magus, but that is correct."

"Magus? I see." She seemed slightly mystified, but rolled with it. "What can you do?"

She moved one of her pawns.

Shirou did have the option of ignoring this, really, but it might sour the rest of the discussion.

"Nothing interesting. Create replicas of simple objects with an affinity for swords. Read the structure of objects and temporarily improve certain aspects of them. That's it really."

He moved one of his own pawns. In the back of his mind he already started seeing potential moves.

"Is that so? Seems quite narrow and material. Physical combat oriented?" Sona seemed to appreciate that he had taken her challenge and made a move.

Shirou was really grateful for the follow-up practise on talking while playing.

"I suppose you could put it that way. Not really intentionally, but that was how it turned out."

Kind of true, he didn't learn magecraft to fight, but as it turned out his magecraft was pretty good for fighting.

She looked at him a bit oddly, which made sense, it didn't exactly match up overly well with how Human magic worked in this world.

"Yet you then obtained the fighting ability to subdue a Fallen."

"It's not all that impressive. She's not a very powerful Fallen."

"But it is outside what you would normally expect from a Human. Not to mention I could detect no signs that you had been hurt the day after, so either you or someone you know made sure there were no signs of the battle on you afterwards, which isn't supported by the scene of your battle, _or you subdued a Fallen without injury_." There was a strong emphasis on the last part.

"As I said, she underestimated me."

"Merely underestimating doesn't quite cut it, and Light spears were most certainly thrown, and deflected. No matter how you look at it, all evidence points to you being quite capable."

Sona stared at him angrily, something that lasted for what felt like several minutes, and for a few moments Shirou was worried she would break off the deal.

But then she suddenly sighed and lost all indication of being angry at all. Instead she leaned back and smiled.

"Well, I suppose you are entitled to keeping a few secrets. Still, I would like to test you." She then said.

"Test? What kind of test do you have in mind?"

Would she make him fight a member of her peerage? Or…

"There's a Stray Devil we've been tracking. I would ask you to hunt it down. Don't worry, it shouldn't be a problem for someone who can subdue a Fallen, but we'll be keeping an eye on you in case you need our support."

Figures.

"So you want to see how useful I can be in hunting down Stray Devils? And also gauge my ability while you are at it, I suppose?"

"Indeed. Hunting Strays are an important duty for us, but it would be quite nice if I could spare my peerage from it occasionally, or know that I can bring you as additional fighting strength, depending on the situation."

Hunt a Stray Devil? If his memory served, Stray Devils could lie all over the place in terms of power, although truly powerful ones were few and far between. After all, they were merely Reincarnated Devils that had broken their ties with their King, either by running away or even killing them.

Of course, the weakest probably wouldn't dare or be able to escape, so a Stray that had to be hunted was probably no weakling…

Well, Sona seemed confident he should be able to do it, so it probably all came down to what he was willing to show. Definitely no more than he had shown Vali. Creating swords in mid-air and firing them could be helpful to keep him alive, and attacking with a bow would give a chance to kill the Stray without putting himself at risk…

He sighed slightly. "Alright. When do we begin?"

"Once night falls." Sona replied with a small smile, simultaneously making the winning move of their little chess game that had steadily progressed as they talked. "Still, I thought you didn't play chess?"

The game had been somewhat close, although Sona clearly hadn't been giving it her all at first and only gotten a bit more serious later on when she realised he wasn't a complete beginner like she had initially believed.

He couldn't blame her, at an early conversation between them he had, entirely truthfully, said that he didn't play chess.

"I… learned somewhat recently. An acquaintance of mine taught me when he heard I would have dealings with Devils."

"Really?" She looked quite stunned. "To think you'd become that capable so quickly… What a pleasant surprise. I'd quite like to meet this acquaintance of yours."

"You might… but I can't make any promises."

"Is that so? Well, back to business. We're ready to repay you in money… or with knowledge. Other arrangements can be made, but we would have to negotiate."

Shirou considered the offer. Knowledge? Was there any knowledge he would want and could make use of? He would have to talk to Azazel first to make sure he couldn't provide that himself.

Other arrangements? Who even knew what that could be…

Money seemed the most straightforward repayment… But he didn't really need any… Although he could repay Azazel a bit, he supposed…

"Simple money will do for this time." He said.

"I see. How about… 250 000 Yen? After all, that would be in addition to us overlooking your transgression."

250? That almost seemed a bit much to Shirou… But… That was probably the amount she had carefully thought out beforehand, so if that was what she offered…

"That seems… fine…"

Sona seemed a bit surprised at his uneasy answer but didn't comment on it.

"Excellent, we'll meet up outside the school gate." She instead said.

 _ **-Break—**_

Night had fallen, and Shirou stood outside the school gate, with Archer's bow in hand and with a piece of black armour made out of a lightweight and strong alloy forged by the Grigori covering his chest while a magically reinforced red coat and pair of black pants covered for the rest.

A gift from Azazel, with a certain irony present that the Fallen hopefully didn't know anything about. Well, the resemblance was superficial at best so…

Out from the school Sona and Tsubaki approached, still clad in their school uniforms, although Tsubaki was also carrying a Naginata. Her trusty weapon that she was most familiar with.

"And here I thought you didn't have any deep ties with the Grigori." Sona said, indicating his attire.

"A gift my mentor arranged for. He has far stronger ties with the Grigori than I do." He replied.

The two girls made a, "that makes sense", type of face, although Sona was certainly still thoughtful.

"A bow? But I cannot see any arrows?" Tsubaki then said, clearly slightly confused.

"If what he said about his abilities is true, then he can make arrows. So, he wouldn't need to carry any." Sona said before Shirou could say anything.

"Ah."

"As expected of you Kaichou." Shirou said with a small smile. "Will it only be the two of you?"

"Yes. We two alone should be able to finish this hunt if need be…" Sona stared at Archer's bow. "That bow… If I'm not mistaken it looks like the draw weight should be monstrous…"

"Nothing escapes you I see. That is indeed correct, but you need not worry. I can use it just fine."

He figured she would notice eventually, but to think she would just from looking at it…

At first, he had considered bringing the Longbow Azazel gave him, but a normal bow and normal arrows wouldn't cut it, and this was still something Vali had seen, although Shirou hadn't actually tried using it against him.

He couldn't quite use the bow like Archer did, but for the first strike it wouldn't matter as much.

Preferably he'd just take the Stray Devil down before it could ever strike back, but he knew better than to rely on it.

"We'll show you the way to where it should be hiding, after that it is up to you." Sona said and started moving.

"Understood." Shirou replied and followed.

They walked in silence. There wasn't really anyone out at this time, and anyone who might have seen them had their gaze diverted through magic.

Of course, the Devils could have flown, and Shirou himself could probably move through somewhat fast if he wanted to, but he was just fine with conserving his strength as well.

It slightly reminded him of the Holy Grail War. There was a similar tension, although some of it was probably directed towards him.

It was probably a combination of their usual seriousness and that tension that kept Sona and Tsubaki from saying anything.

Saber… Rin…

He shook off the feelings that encroached on him. This was hardly the time to reminisce.

"Here we are." Sona's voice took him out of his thoughts. "The Stray Devil should be hiding in that Villa." She indicated a decent sized Villa that seemed perfectly normal if somewhat isolated.

He readied himself and took stock of the situation. He couldn't sense anything out of the ordinary yet, so they were probably safe for now.

They were approaching the building from a forest path, and Shirou made his way up to a cliff overlooking it.

From the path he hadn't been able to see anything out of the ordinary, but now he could spot a few traces of the target.

It probably wouldn't be anywhere near any openings…

"Do you think it will come out any time soon?" He asked without turning to face the Devils who had come up behind him.

"No. This one is quite cautious. It's been trying to lure prey in, and hasn't come out, even despite having had no luck." Sona replied, and judging from the distance and direction of her voice she had probably hidden herself.

Well then…

He'd just have to try and lure it out.

He Traced and nocked an arrow, nothing special, apart from it being heavier than normal.

He released it and it crashed through a window, and then he waited.

At first, he thought the target would ignore it, but then something appeared.

At first glance it almost appeared human, but long, sharp claws and distorted, inhuman features said otherwise.

At first, its expression had been hopeful, probably thinking that some burglar had broken in, but that quickly turned to confusion.

That confusion turned to panicked pain as an arrow slammed into its shoulder, sending it reeling with a loud screech.

He'd tried to land a killing shot, but the Stray Devil had moved in the last second.

Shirou had expected it to retreat back into its hiding place, but instead it evaded his follow up shot and charged out the window with inhuman speed and agility.

He was surprised it found him that quickly seeing as he was actually quite a distance away, maybe a hundred metres or so?

He continued firing arrows at it. It was fast, sure, but Vali was quite comparable and Mittelt wasn't exactly slow either. Not to mention Berserker or Lancer.

Still, it managed to evade quite a few of his shots, and those that hit weren't lethal and unable to stop it.

It might have lost its mind, but it was used to battle. Its reflexes were sharp.

But…

It leapt the last several metres, seeing as he couldn't fire another arrow in time.

It thought he was an archer with only a bow.

He dropped the bow.

"Trace On."

He leapt at the Stray Devil, Kanshou and Bakuya appearing in his hands.

And before it could properly react to this…

He had already slashed through its torso in a X-shape.

He could feel it. The Married Blades considered the Stray Devil a monster.

He stabbed it through the head just to make sure and also made sure to keep an eye on it from a small distance, even after it 'died'.

Sona and Tsubaki emerged from the trees.

"I must say, I almost steeped in when it leapt at you." Sona said.

Tsubaki was silent, but he could see that it was the same for her.

"Thanks, but it was probably good that you didn't." He replied.

"Yes. But still, I'm quite impressed. Not only did you shoot accurately from such a distance, but you baited it and counterattacked when it didn't expect it."

"I still have a long way to go."

He had wanted to take it down before it got anywhere close, but he didn't have the rate of fire and accuracy. He also hadn't been able to predict its movements enough.

"I didn't expect blades like those…" Tsubaki said.

She was studying Kanshou and Bakuya, clearly admiring them.

He dismissed them, as well as the remaining arrows.

Sona threw Archer's bow at him, and he caught it. "Thank you."

"It was nothing. But I agree with Tsubaki, I wasn't expecting you to use a pair of Dao, especially not ones so exquisite." She replied.

"As I said, affinity for swords. As for them being Dao… they suit me." He said with a wry smile.

"Hmm… Fair enough. Emiya Shirou, would you like to join my peerage?" She then suddenly said.

Shirou almost stumbled due to the unexpected question. "No thanks. Don't get me wrong, I just don't want to abandon my humanity…" He then responded seriously.

"I see… Oh well. Worth a try, you seem like you'd make a good addition." Sona said shrugged. "Let's get going back. I won't allow you skipping school just because of this excursion."

With that declaration she started away, Tsubaki used some kind of magic that caused the body to disappear then followed.

The return was a bit more light-hearted than before, but even so they didn't talk although before they parted Sona handed him an envelope containing the money they had agreed.

* * *

 **Author's notes: Well... this update was entirely on a whim, so don't take this as any kind of indication of anything. I just suddenly felt like writing another chapter for this story and, well... here we are. I could have written a play by play of the chess game, but... I'm not overly good at chess, so I probably wouldn't have been able to do Sona's skills justice. Or something... Okay, I admit, I'm just lazy.**

 **Well, hopefully I didn't do anything too stupid in this chapter. Well, I'm sure people will tell me. As for the person who told me I was getting Kiba's name wrong, thank you. I think the worst part about that is that I think I noticed it at one point, then forgot about it. Oh well.**

 **I hope you enjoyed and that you have a nice day.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I own neither Fate/Stay Night nor High School DxD  
**

* * *

"You know, I didn't think about it yesterday, but you said you can improve certain aspects of objects, right?" Sona queried as her knight was moved to an offensive position.

"Yes. Temporarily, to be more exact." Shirou responded, at the same time responding to Sona's knight with a bishop.

"Well, you see, I was thinking about your battle with the stray, and it struck me that you must have improved your own body."

"Yeah, I used my magic to strengthen my body. Mind if I ask you a question?"

She repositioned her knight to a new, equally offensive, but safer position. "Of course. We are having a civil conversation as fellow students of Kuoh Academy. You may ask me just as much as I ask you."

"And yet we are discussing matters as Magus and Devil. Well, this is related to both that and being students anyway." Sona seemed just a bit puzzled at this statement. "It's just that I haven't seen any of the Occult Research Club members lately. You wouldn't happen to know why?"

Shirou almost made one move, but something told him that another move would have a better chance of victory, and he indulged it.

He wasn't sure if it was the move, the question, or both that caused his opponent's pause. She hid it from showing on her expression well, although the resultant expression did remind him of Rin, something that did cause another pang of sorrow.

"They are… collectively away for a short period. They'll hopefully be back soon enough."

Shirou didn't miss the hopefully. Sona wasn't entirely certain they'd be back. Perhaps she wasn't convinced whatever they were doing would succeed?

"I see. Devil business then I presume. Perhaps even quite personal?"

A short chuckle escaped Sona. "I can't tell you any more than I already have. As such, allow me to be so bold as to change the subject. Those Dao you used last night, they are replicas, correct? You did say that was what you created after all, replicas."

She made a move that allowed her to block off a large part of the potential of his previous move.

"All right, I'll go along with your new subject. Yes, they are replicas."

Shirou continued his plan though. He still felt quite certain it was his best bet.

"Right, and that means they are replicas of something else that was already around."

She continued to readjust for the change in his moves.

"Yes, although I doubt you can find the exact ones being replicated."

"Well, I wasn't quite looking for the exact ones but… those Dao are exquisite like no other. They are most certainly no ordinary Dao but infused with something beyond just magic. They also appear to symbolise to some extent Yin and Yang."

She pushed up her glasses with a smug smirk, and Shirou couldn't quite help but look back at her slightly sternly.

She couldn't have…

She continued.

"And do you know how many Dao with that kind of symbolism, while also being peerless in craftmanship and just a little bit more than just a pair of Dao there are? Not many. As such, I am led to believe that those Dao you used are, in fact, replicas, quite amazing ones at that, of Gan Jiang and Mo Ye, also known as Kanshou and Bakuya in Japanese."

Shirou was stunned. Sure, all things considered her conclusion is honestly quite logical, if a bit farfetched. But for her to find the information required to make that conclusion, and in a single night…

Her reputation was well-earned indeed.

He smiled.

"I could quite easily simply say that your conclusion is insane and point out how unlikely it is for me to have seen something like those blades in order to be able to replicate them, but I won't. There were modifications made to the ones I saw, and therefore the ones I use, but they are still considered to be Kanshou and Bakuya, the married blades."

"I honestly expected you to dismiss my claim."

"That would only serve to make you more certain you were onto something I'm sure. Besides, you are not the first person to make that connection."

"You know, now I have to question your claim about being limited to simple objects."

"Swords are rather simple. Besides, I have an overwhelming affinity for them. The further I go from swords the simpler they have to be."

He made a simple move, one that he had been working towards the last dozen moves. "Check."

Sona stared at the board. "Huh. That is interesting… And it leads into… Oh my. We have a stalemate."

This time it was Shirou's turn to stare at the board. A stalemate? He'd been working to try and win so-

Oh. Her reactions had led to the situation turning into a stalemate.

"This is… problematic… A draw?"

"Let's call it a draw. You certainly seem to have an eye for analysis." The raven-haired Devil seemed to play with a chess-piece, although it wasn't one from the set they had been playing with. "How about it? Won't you- Never mind. You don't seem the type to change his mind easily. So I'll spare you any further offers."

The sudden interruption and full reversal of whatever she was going to say, presumably another offer to join her Peerage, confused Shirou. She didn't have that much to lose on asking again, so why? And why did she change her mind so suddenly?

Why did she seem just a little unsettled?

It was subtle. She was good at hiding things behind a set expression, but there was just a little that came through.

Rin had been like that as well.

For just a couple seconds Shirou entertained the thought about just how amusing it might be to break Sona's composure, based on his previous experiences with Rin.

But no. He pushed it away.

"If you say so. I do appreciate not having to refuse." He tried to hide his confusion, but suspected Sona noticed it.

He suddenly noted that there seemed to be a small murmur amongst the members of the Student Council, especially noting that Tsubaki seemed quite shocked.

Why could that be? She was there last time he refused, so it couldn't have been that-

Suddenly he realised the other members were throwing glances at the chess table.

That's right. Sona Sitri is someone well-known for her skill at chess. Heck, it apparently got her out of an undesired marriage-agreement…

Although…

Frankly speaking Azazel could probably beat her at chess…

At least comparing the pressure between the two of them while just casually playing.

Sona was positively pleasant to play against, while even just playing casually Azazel was a true terror of an opponent.

He could be wrong. Maybe if they both got serious Sona would prove superior, but he frankly doubted it.

Suddenly Shirou's phone, a device he more often than not completely forgot he had, went off, the message received sound cutting through the silence.

With a number of apologies and placations he looked at the message he had just received.

' _We have an appointment. That means you and I are going somewhere. Come home soon, okay?'_

This unusual message came from none other than Azazel himself, although he wasn't referred to such on the phone, instead being called 'Daddy A', which Shirou would have changed if he could think of anything else… and if he knew how.

He hadn't used the device much, even if he wasn't a technophobe like Rin.

"What was that?" Sona queried.

"My… guardian messaged me. Seems I need to return home sooner than expected." He responded.

"I understand, it was my selfish request that you come here today anyway, so I don't mind, it's fine."

"You just wanted to play chess." Shirou said as he opened the doors with a smirk.

"I have been seen through."

 _ **-Break—**_

"There you are Shirou!" Azazel exclaimed as Shirou stepped through the door.

"I'm… home?" Shirou replied while his guardian seemed to appraise him.

"Hm… Well, the Kuoh uniform will have to do, it's a casual meeting after all. Come along!" Even as he said this the Governor-General of the Grigori turned around and started heading further into their home.

"Where are we going?" Shirou said while he started following the Fallen.

"We're going to meet a couple of guys I want to introduce you to."

"Then why are we heading into the training-"

"We're going to teleport to our destination! And if we did that here it would raise a lot more questions than anyone is willing to answer!"

"We're going to **what**?!"

Shirou was vaguely aware that teleportation was far less crazy here than amongst the Magi back home, but he still wasn't expecting to go anywhere by it.

As they descended into the warded chamber Shirou spotted a glowing magic circle that he had been aware was there by the foot of the stairs all along, but hadn't quite known what it was for, and kind of forgotten since it had been inactive all this time.

Azazel stepped right into it without hesitation, gesturing for Shirou to follow.

"Come on, we're already a bit late!"

While he felt a bit nervous, he still stepped into the circle. It was kind of too late to start distrusting Azazel now.

And then, without warning, he was pulled along by the magic in the circle, and before he knew it, he was suddenly somewhere completely different.

He couldn't quite tell where they were, but it seemed like it was someplace warded. And pretty high-class. The chamber they found themselves in was highly decorated with fine carvings and items.

Then he realised that there were two presences beyond an ornate door before them.

Presences that rivalled, if not surpassed Azazel's.

And one of them was a Devil.

And the other…

It was similar, yet different from Azazel's.

Shirou stood dumbfounded for a short few moments.

"Azazel… why is there a Devil and what I presume can only be a Pure Angel on the other side of that door?" He deadpanned.

"You know, I always suspected you could sense us to some extent. But it's nice to have confirmation. As for your question… Let's just get introductions out of the way first and then you'll get an explanation."

Without waiting for any response, Azazel opened the door, beyond which was yet another quite extravagant room, in the middle of which stood a table surrounded by seats, all of them quite fitting for the room.

And in these chairs two people were seated, one a somewhat upbeat man with hair a familiar shade of crimson, the other a blonde man so fair he might even be called perfect.

Shirou probably paled as realisation crept onto him.

A Devil of great power with the same type of hair as Rias Gremory…

Then he was probably her brother…

And the Angel was no doubt one of the Archangels…

"There you are, Azazel. We've been waiting." The Angel spoke up, his voice carrying an almost divine aspect.

"Sorry about that. I forgot to call my ward home early." Azazel replied, indicating Shirou. "This is my new ward, Shirou Emiya. Shirou, this is Sirzechs Lucifer and Michael."

Yep. That was really what was going on here. One of the four leaders of the Devils and the greatest Archangel were waiting there, and the Governor-General of the Grigori just entered. Three people who should be mortal enemies, and they were now here, in the same room, acting rather more like good friends than foes.

"My name is Emiya Shirou, it is an honour to meet you." Shirou managed to recover just enough to say that.

"You don't need to be so tense Shirou. We've been wanting to meet you. It seems you've confused my sister quite a bit." Sirzechs said.

"Well, even I wish for you to be at ease. Sirzechs, Azazel and I have been meeting in secret to discuss forming a formal peace treaty between our factions. We have put our pasts behind us and are striving for peace together." Michael added, and for some reason it put Shirou at ease.

"I… see. So, why am I here?" Shirou said.

"As Sirzechs said, they've been wanting to meet you. And, well… there is something I was curious about." Azazel responded.

"Well, if Azazel hadn't told me, I probably wouldn't have been able to tell you are someone who has come from beyond the Gap. I can on the other hand tell that you have power. To me you almost seem like a walking talking Sacred Gear." Sirzechs suddenly said. "Not quite, but similar."

That was… Well, in a sense, Unlimited Blade Works is the true form of Shirou's magecraft, the only one he is allowed. And the power of Sacred Gears comes from the souls sealed within…

"I, on the contrary, can tell quite well that you, Shirou Emiya, doesn't quite belong here. An outsider thrown into our system. And also, a highly sorrowful existence. A heart broken and scarred, turned to glass." Michael then said his voice filling with sorrow. "Filled with a borrowed ideal in a desperate attempt to retain function."

What…?

It was… a bit uncomfortable. The only people who had ever come close to the core of Shirou before was Kirei, Gilgamesh and Rin. Well, and Archer, but… that guy was Shirou's future self, or at least one possible future self.

But right now it was as if he had been seen through completely.

"Damn Michael, you didn't need to say that out loud. But you think so too… I was honestly hoping I was reading the kid wrong, but I guess not." Azazel said.

"I apologise for the discomfort I must have caused Shirou Emiya. I acted without thinking." The Archangel said, bowing his head slightly.

"Ah… Uh… There is no need to apologise. I think… But… why did you call my heart turned to glass?" Shirou asked.

"I don't quite know why, but sorrowful words fill my mind when I look at you. A body made of swords. Blood of iron and a heart of glass. A life that needs no meaning. You are a sorrowful existence, and I dearly wished it was in my power to help you. I think only Father could have."

There were many things about Michael's words that sent Shirou reeling, and perhaps it was in desperation to avoid them that he latched onto the Archangel's last few words.

"'Could have'?" He asked out loud, not entirely intentionally.

"You haven't told him Azazel?" Sirzechs asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Well… no, not yet… Shirou, this might not be the right time to say it, but God, my Father… is dead." The Watcher said.

On the upside, Shirou wasn't reeling from Michael's words anymore.

Now he was reeling from a revelation about this world that was absurdly much greater.

"That's… kind of a major thing…" Shirou said.

The god with the most followers… is dead? From what he had heard most of the gods of myth are still around, if lying a bit low. So if the biggest one was dead…

"Yep. So please don't tell anyone. It's actually a massive secret that's been kept for a really long time." Azazel responded.

Shirou shook himself a bit. He wasn't exactly religious but… the magnitude of the revelation was still obscene.

Hang on.

"Does that mean Michael leads Heaven?" The youth asked.

"An astute observation. Indeed, in the absence of Father I have taken up the role of leading Heaven." Michael replied.

"He's done his homework Azazel." Sirzechs said.

"So it would seem. Good job kid!" The Fallen ruffled Shirou's hair.

Shirou moved away from the offending hand and gave Azazel a slightly annoyed glare.

"So Shirou, I couldn't help but notice how much you were taken aback by what Michael said about you." Unfortunately for Shirou it seemed the Devil wasn't going to let his earlier reaction slide.

"That's…" The youth was hesitant, but ultimately sighed and gave a small demonstration. " _ **My body is made out of swords.**_ "

With merely one verse, Unlimited Blade Works flared within him, making it easier to Trace.

And unsurprisingly, all three of the beings in the room picked up on it.

"Oh, that's interesting. Not quite as similar to a Sacred Gear as expected." Sirzechs said.

If the Devil was sensing UBW as a power, then it only made sense that he would pick it up more strongly.

""A desolate field of swords."" Both Azazel and Michael said the same thing, at the same time.

Azazel had already indicated that he could see something about it, so it made sense Michael did as well, and it only made sense that they could now actually glimpse into the Reality Marble itself.

"What Michael said… they are parts of a chant I can utter in order to draw out the power within me." Shirou explained.

It was the truth. If he completed the chant, Unlimited Blade Works would manifest, overwriting the space around it.

Unfortunately, even with just this Shirou could tell it would fail.

Even if it was easier here, it was still too much.

That was what his mind was telling him.

"Yeah, I can see why you would take him under you wing Azazel. He's interesting." Sirzechs said after a short while of silence all around.

"Yup. Didn't know he'd be this interesting though." Azazel responded.

"If we are quite done discussing the boy… I believe he is quite uncomfortable being the subject of discussion, we can move on to the main reason we gathered." Michael interjected.

"Yeah, yeah. I think I can make a serious push towards a peace conference soon enough. I don't expect the old asses to just agree to one, but I think I can push it through." Sirzechs said, switching to serious mode.

"I hope to be able to get it through soon as well, but Kokabiel is still being an issue. I think he might try to do something serious." Azazel followed.

The total change in atmosphere almost threw Shirou for a loop.

Before it had been kind of light-hearted, even if the discussion about Shirou himself had dragged it down a bit, Sirzechs and Azazel had dragged it up.

But now, now it was all business.

Now it was easy to see that they were leaders.

Honestly, Shirou wasn't sure if he was more or less uncomfortable now than before.

"Oh, Shirou, you don't need to stay at the table if you don't want. Go and look around if you want. Maybe talk to Grayfia." Azazel suddenly said, and both of the other two nodded in agreement.

Grayfia?

Wait…

Maybe it had been the shock from the two leaders in the room, maybe she hadn't been there when they arrived…

But indeed, at the moment, a beautiful silver-haired woman in a maid uniform was standing in the room, giving off the distinct scent of a Devil.

Quite powerful too.

How did he miss her?

Especially considering Grayfia probably referred to Sirzechs' wife Grayfia Lucifuge, who was a considerably powerful Devil heralded as 'The Strongest Queen'.

Still, he approached her, and she shifted her gaze towards him as he started getting closer, before turning towards him once he got close enough.

"Good evening Shirou Emiya. I am Grayfia Lucifuge. Lady Rias has spoken of you a few times, you puzzle her." The woman said, bowing slightly with her introduction.

"Good evening. I've heard of you as well Miss Lucifuge." He returned the gesture.

"Grayfia is fine. To think you were a ward of Azazel. The young lady would be shocked."

"While I am sure it would amuse Lord Lucifer to no end, I ask that you make sure he doesn't tell her."

"Worry not. He can keep secrets. But I will endeavour to ensure that he does nonetheless."

When Shirou had first read about Grayfia's habit of wearing maid clothing he had been quite baffled, but now that he had met her, he had a hard time imagining her as anything else.

She played the role quite well.

"I've heard you get along quite well with Lady Sitri." She then said, after they had been silent for a short while.

"I suppose. Although I'm not sure how 'well' you've heard we get along. I'd say we are cordial."

Grayfia actually chuckled just a little bit. "Seems like you've had it rough. Many rumours?"

"Yeah… I guess I've gotten tired of hearing the whispers, not to mention the outright questions."

"I'll let you in on something. Lady Himejima has been working to spread some of those rumours."

Akeno has? Of course she did. Probably revenge for not letting her have her fun. Maybe.

"Why am I not surprised?"

"While on the subject. Tell me, are you spying on Lady Himejima?" There was a certain threat in Grayfia's voice.

"That depends on your perspective. I was certainly asked, as a favour to Azazel, to keep an eye on her. Even then, all I've actually done is confirm that she seems to be doing well. If that information has then been passed on to Barachiel… I wouldn't know." Somehow Shirou managed to keep a straight face and maintain calm while saying this.

"You really are honest. Frankly, neither I nor my husband ever thought you were." The silver-haired maid gave him a small smile. "I'm also quite impressed you haven't once looked at my bosom. Although I suppose Lady Himejima did supposedly complain about that."

As if to try and mess with him, these words were accompanied with what he could only assume was a deliberate act of making said bosom move.

Sure, it wasn't the most excessively sized he'd encountered, but by normal standards it was by no means small.

And even if it was for just a moment, he did look at it in order to note this.

"I guess your guard is just a bit down." She said with a small smile.

"Shirou! We're quite done here, so you can stop flirting with Sirzechs' wife!" Azazel suddenly shouted, causing Shirou to abjectly turn towards the Fallen with just the faintest hint of a blush.

"I am not flirting!" He retorted, maybe just a bit indignantly.

Azazel and Sirzechs laughed, and Grayfia gave a tiny chuckle of her own.

"We know. But it seemed too good an opportunity to pass up." The Watcher returned with a grin. "And it clearly was. That was a nice reaction I got from you."

"You are incorrigible Azazel. You too Sirzechs. This is about your wife after all." Michael said. Then, as he passed by Shirou, he gently laid a hand on his shoulder. "I wish I could do more to help you." He whispered.

"I'm not particularly worried about my wife. Grayfia is, after all, Grayfia." Sirzechs returned.

Shirou joined up with Azazel as they headed towards the door they had entered from.

"How did it go?" He asked.

"Well enough. We're getting closer. It's a bit sad really. You'd think with a line-up like ours that it would be easy to get a peace-treaty going. But nope." Azazel replied. "You seemed to get along with Grayfia quite nicely."

"I… think…? It was a bit tricky telling."

"Nah. She likes you. You wouldn't have had nearly as nice of a chat otherwise."

"I can believe that."

"Oh, and don't go telling Mittelt about this meeting. Or do. It's actually up to you."

"Right… Wait. It is?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because she's under your supervision."

"What about you? You're there too."

"I'm not supposed to be anywhere near her right now. Incidentally, you can do what you want regarding her."

"What do you mean by that? Azazel, don't look away and whistle and please explain!"

"You know what I mean."

"I'm not sure I do."

"You do realise she's a couple millennia?"

"What does that have to do with anything?"

Azazel just chuckled.

Well, perhaps Shirou did know, but he refused to acknowledge it.

* * *

 **Author's notes: Now let's see if anyone takes issue. Considering previous patterns, that is quite probable, although considering said patterns, it's going to be something I didn't consider. Somehow. I still don't quite understand why so many people flock to this combination of works. Mainstream popularity of both? Who knows.**

 **Well, feedback is appreciated. If someone feels I did any of the Highschool DxD stuff wrong, or at least too wrong to ignore, feel free to tell me.**

 **I hope you enjoyed, and that you have a nice day.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I own neither Fate/Stay Night nor High School DxD  
**

* * *

Shirou breathed slowly as he drew his bow.

A ritual to focus his mind, preparation for what he was about to test.

Mittelt was there. Shirou had considered waiting for Azazel, but he couldn't rely on him forever, and who knows when the Governor-General would return.

And Shirou needed someone around in case this went horribly wrong, which was far from impossible.

So while he still wasn't entirely sure about her motivations and true allegiances, it was probably about time she was given some more insight into his abilities.

Besides, he might really need more confidants going forward, and he seemed like he would be stuck with Mittelt for quite some time, especially if his suspicions were correct.

He loosed the arrow, and it flew true. It was nothing out of the ordinary, but that was the whole point.

"What are we doing, Shirou? If we're not going to spar…" Mittelt queried, directing an inscrutable glance at him.

Shirou dismissed the bow he had Traced. "I need you to watch, and be ready to help if anything happens to me."

"If anything-? Shirou, what are you going to do?"

"Just watch, please."

It wasn't difficult to see that she wasn't pleased with the situation, but she was simultaneously also clearly quite intrigued.

"Trace, on." Shirou chanted, activating his magecraft.

Power coursed as a weapon took form.

It wasn't the smoothest Tracing, but it went without complication.

Good. That was step one.

In his hand now rested a spear, one which Shirou didn't like looking at too much, after having seen its tip stick out of his own chest.

Gáe Bolg…

He eyed up the target…

Distance should be good…

While he had never personally seen the spear used this way, he knew it was part of its function.

Yes. Shirou was about to test **activating** a B+-rank Noble Phantasm. And one that took quite a bit of magical energy as well.

Unlike the highly efficient Anti-Unit thrust variant, the thrown Anti-Army variant was quite demanding.

It wasn't that he doubted he could.

He just wasn't sure how well he would come out of it.

He poured magical energy into the spear even as he hefted it into a throwing stance.

His intent was clear, and it had been conveyed to the spear.

' _Strike the target.'_

The spear thrummed with power, an ominous red glow surrounding its tip, and he could hear Mittelt gasp.

" **GÁE! BOLG!** " With a loud cry, he flung the now glowing spear with all his might.

His technique wasn't perfect, but it was good enough.

After all…

That spear didn't miss.

And suddenly, not only the target, but all nearby was struck as the spear multiplied, before a fierce explosion of magical energy blew away even those that weren't hit.

With a hollow clang, the spear returned to Shirou's hand, and he surveyed the carnage. The vast majority of the targets were gone, although a few further back had managed to survive…

If he had thrown the spear from an elevated position…

With this observation made he moved on to something much more important, checking his own status.

…

Using the Anti-Army Noble Phantasm had certainly taken its toll.

His Circuits burned slightly in protest, and a slight amount of fatigue had certainly crept in.

His breathing was slightly harder…

This wasn't something he could use over and over again.

"What-?!" Mittelt's shocked outcry rang out after silence had settled again.

Shirou breathed out. "This went well." He remarked, more to himself.

"What was that?! How did-?! Did you just call that spear-?!"

The young-looking Fallen Angel took several breaths, and for a few moments Shirou was worried she was hyperventilating, but steadily her breathing slowed down, until it returned to a more regular pace.

"Okay… okay Mittelt… Let's just… calm down… and take this one thing at a time…" She finally said.

"Have you calmed down now?" Shirou asked with a small smile.

Mittelt blushed slightly, probably embarrassed. "Yes."

"How do I explain this…?"

"Maybe start with how you suddenly summoned a spear you call **Gáe Bolg**?"

"It's a replica created with my magecraft. It doesn't quite match up to the original, but it's close to identical."

"It doesn't look that much like Gáe Bolg though… although I've never laid eyes on it in person… Not to mention that aura… that power…"

"It probably looks quite different from the one you've heard about."

"Different?" She narrowed her eyes at him, then shook her head. "It doesn't really matter. And I can't deny that it certainly performed like Gáe Bolg…" Then her eyes widened. "Don't tell me you have more legendary weapons you can just summon up."

Shirou dismissed the spear, seeing as they had moved on from it. "I do. Even those I favour the most aren't exactly… ordinary."

"Those paired swords? Well… I always did figure they weren't ordinary blades…" Mittelt sighed slightly and shook her head. "Now for the next point… How can your 'magecraft' do something a Sacred Gear would be hard-pressed to pull off?"

"That's…" Shirou searched for some way to explain this.

"Complicated? Yeah, you don't need to explain it." Mittelt quivered visibly as she glanced at Shirou, although he couldn't quite divine the reason. She then closed in, activating her own magic to examine him. "You seem to be fine. Trace damage that's already healing… You heal too fast; do you know that?"

"Yeah…" Shirou didn't have much to say on that subject. It had always been like that.

She backed off again with a wry smile. "Just another piece of the enigma that you are."

He could only chuckle sheepishly at this remark.

 _ **-Break—**_

A good few days of relative normalcy had passed, with only infrequent visits to the Student Council and no jobs for Sona, as well as seeing nothing of the Occult Research Club, when something completely out of the ordinary happened.

Hyoudou Issei, of all people, being accompanied by Rias Gremory, openly, with Rias sticking unusually close to him.

The first time he sees the Gremory heiress for over a week, and that it what he sees…

"Honestly, I wasn't expecting it either, Shirou." Kiba suddenly said as he appeared next to Shirou.

He seemed kind of amused, probably at Shirou's shock.

"Kiba-san, what happened while you guys were away?"

"Its… a long story. I'm not sure I can tell you, but I'll at least say that Issei saved Buchou."

"Saved?"

"Something… like that." Koneko suddenly added, having at some point joined up with Kiba.

All in all, they seemed to be in decently high spirits, with just a hint of bitterness.

Not to mention…

Issei was suddenly more, presumably Dragon, than before…

What exactly had happened?

This thought followed him for the rest of the day, all the way until he was intercepted as he was about to go home.

"Good evening Emiya-san." Akeno said with a small polite bow. "Would you mind accompanying me to our clubroom? Buchou wishes to speak with you."

"Good evening Himejima-san. Certainly, it would be my pleasure." Shirou responded equally politely.

A politeness that lasted all the way to the old school building within which the Occult Research Club was housed.

The moment they stepped within its doors; her politeness faded away. "I've heard you've been of great help to our dear Kaichou. How far has your relationship gotten? Will you be joining the Student Council?"

"Yes, I have been helping Kaichou, although saying I have been of great help seems to me an exaggeration, I have helped her with one Stray hunt and a small bit with some of the Student Council's problems. As for joining, no, I will not."

"No fun at all. Even less of a reaction than last time. It couldn't be?! Did she-?!"

"I don't know what you are thinking she might have done, but she has done nothing of the sort you seem to want to imply." He interrupted Akeno.

She merely sighed. "Well, it was worth a try."

They had walked for quite some time when they finally arrived at a set of doors, behind which several Devils were gathered.

Akeno pushed the doors open, revealing what Shirou could only assume was the Occult Research Club's clubroom.

Rias was sat behind a decent sized desk, probably no smaller than Sona's, while a small table and two couches stood before it in the middle of the room.

Present were also Sona and Tsubaki, as well as the rest of Rias' peerage. For some reason Issei had a somewhat unsettled look when he saw Shirou, but he was alone in it.

Shirou could also see a magic circle, similar to the one he and Azazel had used to teleport, although also quite different.

"Rias-san, you wanted to see me?" He said as he entered.

"Ah, Emiya-san, good of you to come. Sona has regaled us with the tale of your Stray hunt." Rias responded.

"It shouldn't have been all that interesting of a tale." Shirou returned.

"On the contrary, in it you displayed quite the ability, both in tactics and direct combat…"

Shirou almost expected Rias to extend an offer to join her peerage since it seemed a natural continuation of her sentence, but none ever came.

"What was it you called yourself? 'A small-time third-rate'?" Akeno added. "I wouldn't want to meet what you would call a first-rate if you are third-rate."

Shirou could only honestly call himself a third-rate because he was a third-rate Magus, mostly due to his subpar Magic Circuits and restrictive Element/Origin combination hampering his ability to use most Magecraft.

Top it off with an almost non-existent schooling in Magecraft and improper mindset for a Magus…

"Personally, I think he is likely considered a third-rate in some area not connected with battle, leaving his statement a truth with modification." Sona interjected.

Shirou raised an eyebrow, but maintained a calm exterior.

"Makes sense. He's not the type to tell bold-faced lies, and he does seem quite grounded. Any comment, Emiya-san?" Rias said.

"I hope you won't begrudge me the right to leave none, Rias-san, Kaichou." He answered.

"Hmm… Well! That's fine. It's not like that is why we called you here anyways." The crimson-haired girl responded.

"If I may be so bold, what happened while you and your peerage was away, Rias-san?" Shirou interjected.

He wasn't sure if it was a good idea, and chances were Azazel might be able to tell him as well… but if he was going to hear anything about it, it might be best to hear it from Rias herself. Would prevent any awkward situations if they were to realize he knew.

The two High-class Devils had somewhat surprised looks, but Rias' soon turned into what could only be called a mischievous smile.

"You're curious? Of course you are. Well… It isn't irrelevant to what I wanted to ask you anyway so…" She said. "We were training for my first Rating game… It went… poorly. Bad opponent. But then my darling Issei came to the wedding, managed to beat that moron, and cancel the marriage!"

"Wait, what?" Shirou hadn't intended to say those words, but was caught off guard enough that he did anyway.

Certainly, what Rias had said explained a few things. Them being away to train for the Rating game explained their absence and its length. That they lost explained that hint of bitterness Shirou had felt, and that Issei had apparently managed to resolve everything explained their high spirits in spite of that loss, as well as the sight he had seen this morning…

But…

"Marriage?" He asked.

Sona sighed. "Rias, what was that explanation?"

"Sorry, sorry. I'll try to give a better explanation. You see, Emiya-san, my family had arranged a marriage between me and the youngest son of the Phenex clan. I decided to try and oppose it by challenging him to a Rating game, which our families approved of." Rias explained.

Phenex… Phenex… Where had he…?

Oh, yeah. Azazel gave him a file on the Phenexes, as well as their youngest son, Riser Phenex.

The Phenexes were one of the 72 Pillars, famed for their connection to the Phoenix and possessed of regenerative abilities that bordered on immortality.

A seasoned player of the Rating games with a full Peerage, as well as being near impossible to take down…

"A set up…" Shirou mused out loud.

"I cannot help but agree, Emiya-san." Sona added.

Rias looked slightly displeased with their comments, but didn't voice it. "I cannot deny the likelihood…" She instead said.

Shirou let out a tiny sigh. "Well, I understand what was going on now… So? You implied you had something to ask of me, Rias-san?"

"Ah, yes. Hearing about your abilities, I became curious. You see, they are similar to my Yuuto's. So, I thought I'd ask you to spar with him."

The glance Sona shot towards Rias hinted that the raven-haired girl hadn't heard about this beforehand.

Kiba also looked somewhat surprised but seemed to welcome it to some degree.

Shirou wasn't too happy with the request given, but could certainly understand why.

"You want to test my abilities while hopefully helping Kiba-san develop his?" He queried.

Rias actually seemed a bit surprised by his query. "Huh, that's not a bad angle at all…" She mumbled to herself, and Shirou was only barely able to hear it himself. Then she straightened back out and clapped her hands. "I suppose if you want to look at it that way! I'll even compensate you-"

"No need. I certainly wouldn't mind sparring with Kiba-san. I have to profess some interest from my end as well." Shirou interrupted her. He didn't want any compensation for a spar, and he really did have some interest in Sword Birth.

"Yuuto?" Rias then said, although it didn't sound like she thought he would refuse.

"Certainly." Kiba responded before turning towards Shirou. "Ever since I heard you took down a Fallen Angel, I've been slightly curious myself. Hearing you wield swords… has only heightened that curiosity."

Kiba seemed quite eager, and Shirou felt like he had gained a glimpse at the true person hidden underneath.

"Sona, you'll help set things up, right?" Rias said.

"Of course. I'll also take the opportunity to watch. I had considered pitting Emiya-san against a member of my own Peerage, but your Knight will be perfect, I'm sure." Sona responded.

 _ **-Break—**_

"You have to admit, it is a bit strange that someone who managed to miss that Kuoh was our territory had enough understanding to realize I couldn't possibly defeat Riser." Rias whispered to her best friend.

"Especially since he didn't seem to recognize us at all… It could all be coincidence; I could have read him wrong… Or someone has been feeding him information behind the scenes…" Sona replied.

"Well, supposedly his mentor has close ties to the Grigori… Could that person have been the source?"

"Possibly. But if so they have access to information the Grigori probably wouldn't readily share…"

"Then do you think he…"

"Is an agent of the Grigori after all? No. But I do think there is more to it than he lets on."

Rias sighed. "Moving on… About what you said he said about his swords…"

"Kanshou and Bakuya? I have to admit, I still doubt to some extent that they really would be those blades, it was a vaguely informed stab in the dark, just as much a joke as it was serious that I ever even suggested that would be their true identity."

"And he readily said that they were. Well, he might just have been honest about it."

"Maybe we'll get some more insight into how true or false it is today. He'll have to use his swordsmanship here."

"Too close for the bow, right?"

 _ **-Break—**_

Finding a spot for them to spar was hardly a problem for Sona and Rias.

They practically owned the school, and the clubs had already dispersed for the day.

A quick few protections and wards would ensure no one would see anything, and Koneko was keeping some degree of watch.

Kiba Yuuto… Knight of Rias Gremory's Peerage, possessed of great speed and trained by none other than Okita Souji…

Shirou supposed this would be a true test of the results of his sparring with Vali.

"Well then, Emiya-san, are you prepared?" The Knight said from his position right in front of Shirou.

Without a word the married blades appeared in Shirou's hands, something which Kiba observed carefully with great interest.

In response, a sword appeared in Kiba's hand.

A sword that Shirou couldn't quite understand. Sure, he could understand that it was a demonic sword that hadn't been bestowed with any special properties, but the materials were nothing that actually existed, and the process of creation and history of the sword were non-existent.

It was a sword that had been born right here and now by the power of the Sacred Gear Sword Birth.

Or perhaps it was simply that Unlimited Blade Works both did, and didn't recognize it as a sword.

The only thing that mattered in the end was that it didn't appear in his Reality Marble, and as such couldn't be Traced right now.

"Begin!" Rias exclaimed.

Kiba became a blur as he charged Shirou, perhaps even faster than Vali.

Sparks flew as his sword clashed with Kanshou, while Shirou tried to strike out with Bakuya, but Kiba was long gone halfway through.

"Not bad!" Kiba exclaimed.

"You too!" Shirou returned.

The Knight dove in again, delivering a strike and being away before Shirou could retaliate. This repeated multiple times, each time Shirou deflected, each time Kiba moved away before a retaliation had any chance to connect.

If Shirou tried to carelessly go one the offensive himself, Kiba would outmanoeuvre him…

Suddenly Kiba's sword changed, turning into one of flame that he swung, sending a gout towards Shirou.

The wards on the married blades allowed Shirou to come through unharmed despite not being able to evade completely.

It was only pure instinct that allowed Shirou to evade the sword that sprung up underneath him.

But he did manage to predict that Kiba would come at him as a follow up while he was evading, allowing him to block another strike from the Knight.

Shirou needed a way to stop Kiba's movements…

He did something Kiba didn't expect at all.

He threw his swords at the Knight.

The paired blades spun towards Kiba, who decided to go in, perhaps as he saw Shirou unarmed.

Of course, Shirou's Tracing created replicas, so despite Kanshou and Bakuya spinning in the air behind Kiba, the Magus suddenly had another, identical pair in his hands.

The Knight stopped, recognising the threat with inhuman reactions.

But he wasn't prepared for the copies of Kanshou and Bakuya behind him to start coming towards Shirou, and his back.

Even so he managed to escape by leaping into the air.

But he didn't start flying, which left him vulnerable.

It didn't help that he was caught completely off guard by the dagger and chain that suddenly came flying at him, ensnaring him.

"What?!" Kiba exclaimed.

The Knight immediately started flying, resisting Shirou's pull.

Perhaps he reasoned that as long as Shirou was holding him, the Magus would be unable to attack without dropping the chain, allowing Kiba to move again.

Of course, Shirou had options for attack even with his hands occupied.

Swords materialized floating in mid-air around him, aimed for Kiba, whose eyes widened at the sight.

They were nothing eye-catching, merely a multitude of a somewhat ordinary blade.

Shirou demonstrated that he could launch them like projectiles by letting one fly off to Kiba's side, missing him with a small margin.

"What do you say Kiba-san? Feel like continuing?" Shirou said.

The Knight took a few moments to ponder, then gave his opponent a wry smile.

"Nah, I think we've seen enough for now. Besides, you could have had this nail pierce me rather than entangle me, which would have ended our spar right then and there."

Shirou dismissed his Projections and scratched the back of his head. "You're right, but in the moment, I didn't want to hurt you…"

"I appreciate your thoughtfulness, even if it wasn't necessary." Kiba returned and gestured towards Asia.

"Right, Twilight Healing."

They had told Shirou about Asia's Sacred Gear while heading over, so he didn't need to pretend not to know it.

"But still, I wasn't expecting your swords to be drawn to each other. I should on the other hand have expected the second pair. You have some tricks up your sleeve, don't you Emiya-san?"

"I could return that right back to you, Kiba-san."

"Perhaps we should have a more serious spar at some other time?"

"I think I'd rather not…"

"Worried you'd lose?"

"No."

"If you say so."

 _ **-Break—**_

"Warded and drawn to each other… Could the latter be because they are 'married'?" Sona noted as they sat down in the Occult Research Club, having sent Shirou on his way home.

"Magnetism, maybe?" Issei provided.

"I don't think so. If that was the case, they would always be drawn towards each other, but it only seemed to be while out of his hands." Kiba remarked.

"It certainly lends some credence to his claim." Rias said.

"How about his swordsmanship?" Tsubaki queried.

"A bit unorthodox. A little bit self-taught, a little bit trained. That's what I think. He certainly seemed used to fighting inhuman opponents, even inhuman swordsmen." Kiba replied.

"Fallen?" Rias said.

"Perhaps… but I don't know how many of them are swordsmen…" The Knight answered.

"Not that many. But if he has fought inhuman opponents multiple times…" Sona pondered.

"Then we come back to the problem with how unknown he is. We even tried finding people that might be him under another name but… No good matches came up." Tsubaki continued.

"What about those other weapons?" Issei asked. "If those swords of his were special…"

"I couldn't detect anything unusual about either the swords or that chain and nail weapon…" Akeno said. "Apart from, I suppose, how mundane they were for weapons created with magic."

"So once materialized, they are near indistinguishable from the real thing. I've experienced it slightly myself, having convinced him once to create a porcelain cup… I could barely tell the difference, even with the original right next to it." Sona added.

"Are we sure this isn't some kind of as of yet unknown Sacred Gear ability?" Akeno questioned.

"He might have one, he might not… But it doesn't quite seem to be one. It's… different." Sona said.

"It's probably also why neither I nor Sona can reincarnate him." Rias added.

"What?" Akeno said.

"Wait, is he that strong?" Issei exclaimed.

"We're not sure… It's not that the cost is too high for us… And more that no sensible value is returned." Rias responded.

"No sensible value?" Asia chimed in.

"Not only that, not consistent either. I've checked multiple times, different, yet equally incomprehensible values were given each time." Sona added.

"How could that be? The system has no problem, even with Longinus-class Sacred Gears and powerful non-humans." Akeno said.

"We know. That's why we have been discussing contacting… Lord Beelzebub." Rias said.

"He created the Evil Pieces system. Perhaps he can also unravel this mystery." Sona reasoned.

* * *

 **Author's notes: Hum di do... Wait... How long since I last updated...? Well. I honestly didn't think it had been quite that long, but apparently it had. I have tried to see if the wiki contradicts or supports Devils knowing the cost for reincarnation, but was unable to find anything. So, seeing as it seems like a reasonable thing, I just decided that they would be able to know some way or another. Besides, I've seen it in other fics. So yeah, I've made my decision. Even if literally everyone hates it. Or perhaps I should say decisions, seeing as there are multiple things here.**

 **Feedback is welcome, especially constructive feedback. But I really shouldn't have to say that.**

 **I hope you enjoyed, and that you have a nice day.**


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